nothing beside remains
studies on the meaning of ruins and ruination, on human ephemerality and the (im)permanence of nature, and what it takes to immortalise that in art.
— “lorn echo of these mouldering walls, / to thee no festal measure calls; / no music thro’ the desert-halls, / awakes thee to rejoice!”
created by ruiconteur
last updated April, 2026
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poems about ruins that make me really bloody unwell (to be updated when i finish my thesis)
[note: this list also includes poems that are not necessarily about ruins but that centre the 物是人非 / landscapes remain when the people are gone theme that i’m also incredibly obsessed with. it’s a whole thing.]
old english poetry
- the ruin
- the wanderer
romantic poetry
- “ozymandias” by percy bysshe shelley (as the title of this list might suggest)
- “the ruin and its flowers” by felicia dorothea hemans (the quote in the description is taken from this poem)
- “the image in lava” by felicia dorothea hemans
- “tintern abbey” by william wordsworth
- childe harold’s pilgrimage by lord byron (the last section of it anyway)
omg love to see this list, such a cool topic!
ty ayz!! i've been obsessed with the idea of ruins ever since i first read the old english ruin, and things just spiralled from there lol
rui i love this so much
ty i thought of this 20min ago and i had to get it out immediately
This is such a lovely list - thank you for creating it 🌸
It kind of reminds me of my current poetry read - How Lovely the Ruins by Annie Chagnot.
omg ty for the rec!!! i'm always up for ruins poetry recs, they just hit so good
a ruiconteur list!!! must be my birthday or something!!! (it’s not but it feels like it bc what a gift)!
omg moski i’m so 🥹 i’m glad you like it!!
ozymandias yess!!! i’m in love with this list
i love that poem SO much omg. smth about "look upon my works ye mighty and despair" just gets me every time
Uhg I love this. Crumbs~
tyy 💕 it's kinda funny you say this bc my ruins obsession is linked to how i see death lmao
Lololol I’ll have to get you to elaborate on that 👀
it's basically just the whole idea that people can die but the marks they leave on this world will never truly be gone, no matter what state they eventually end up in. and also i'm super fascinated by the idea that c7th barrow-burials in england reappropriated a prehistoric practice (and often even existing barrows themselves)
Mmmm that makes sense! Thank you for sharing 😊
