# Loomw,ym,ad.Nbr. Can someone identify this poem? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213 "2019-01-04T20:36:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/1 "2019-01-04T20:36:13Z")
My husband used the initial letters from a couple of lines from a poem he liked as the master password for his keepass. The above is the password he gave me to open his keepass, but it’s not working. Either he dictated it to me, and I’ve got it wrong, or he changed it and didn’t change my copy of his password. :mad: If I can identify the poem, I can verify or fix the password. And maybe throw it to Cafe Society to identify other poems he might have used for his password. Note: if you have an issue with me trying to get into his keepass file, I suggest you read [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=865803) ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/2 "2019-01-04T20:43:05Z")
I’m very sorry for your loss. Off the top of my head, I can’t place the poem, but perhaps focusing on the _Nbr._ phrase will prove useful, since it seems to be a complete sentence with fewer possible combinations. I’m not familiar with Keepass. Did you try it with and without punctuation? With and without capital letters? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/3 "2019-01-04T21:01:50Z")
**Moderator Action** I’m going to move this to Cafe Society, partly because it has to do with a literary work and partly so that we can get more eyes on it. Hopefully between the two forums, someone will recognize the poem. Moving thread from GQ to CS. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/4 "2019-01-04T21:10:16Z")
It’s definitely [Ozymandius](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias). I think the problem is that you’ve got an extra “o” in there. I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; **L** ook **o** n **m** y **W** orks, **y** e **M** ighty, **a** nd **d** espair! **N** othing **b** eside **r** emains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/5 "2019-01-04T21:24:13Z")
Woohoo! ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/6 "2019-01-04T21:35:30Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > It’s definitely [Ozymandius](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias). I think the problem is that you’ve got an extra “o” in there. > > I met a traveller from an antique land, > Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone > Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, > Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, > And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, > Tell that its sculptor well those passions read > Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, > The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; > And on the pedestal, these words appear: > My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; > > **L** ook **o** n **m** y **W** orks, **y** e **M** ighty, **a** nd **d** espair! > **N** othing **b** eside **r** emains. Round the decay > > Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare > The lone and level sands stretch far away.” Ok, I have got to know how you did this. I was starting to think about how to write a python script to parse the punctuation possibilities, but hadn’t even yet figured out where a good website/database of poems was. And you pull this out of nowhere! ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/7 "2019-01-04T21:37:30Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > It’s definitely [Ozymandius](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias). I think the problem is that you’ve got an extra “o” in there. > > I met a traveller from an antique land, > Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone > Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, > Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, > And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, > Tell that its sculptor well those passions read > Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, > The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; > And on the pedestal, these words appear: > My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; > > **L** ook **o** n **m** y **W** orks, **y** e **M** ighty, **a** nd **d** espair! > **N** othing **b** eside **r** emains. Round the decay > > Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare > The lone and level sands stretch far away.” Boom! ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/8 "2019-01-04T21:46:00Z")
I was trying to figure out how the letters actually formed into the poem, so I started writing it out: L— o— o— m— w— y— m— a— d— N— b— r— But that said nothing to me, so then I tried L— o— o— m— w—, y— m—, a— d— N— b— r— After I considered and rejected some Shakespeare lines about love, “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” just popped out at me. I looked up Ozymandias (which I spelled wrong in my post), and saw that it had to be right. No real trick, but I do like puzzles (and poetry), so the question fit the way my mind works. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/9 "2019-01-04T21:58:10Z")
I got stuck on _Looking Over Our Morning Wood_… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/10 "2019-01-04T22:23:12Z")
This is the most SDMB thread ever, and in the best way. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/11 "2019-01-04T22:24:17Z")
Wow. I love this board. Well done, **SpoilerVirgin**!! **Zyada** , so very sorry for your loss. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/12 "2019-01-04T22:34:01Z")
OP let us know if it works as a password. That was an amazing solve. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/13 "2019-01-04T22:47:30Z")
Damn **SpoilerVirgin**! Good work! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/14 "2019-01-04T23:32:44Z")
Another post in praise and support for **SpoilerVirgin**! Even though that poem and the poet are among my favorites from high school days, I’m close to certain I would never have hit on the solution you came up with! You have a new fan over here! Bravo!! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/15 "2019-01-05T02:01:08Z")
As an aside, since we’re in CS now and all, Asimov used something very much like this as the plot of one of his Black Widowers mysteries. It was very important for the guest to figure out the password of a fellow who was now dead, but various clues indicated that the password consisted of 14 letters, from which Henry guessed that it was the initial letters of the lines of a sonnet, and then it was just a matter of guessing what the dead guy’s favorite sonnet was from various other clues. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/16 "2019-01-05T07:15:55Z")
I, too, must congratulate SpoilerVirgin. Amazing job. My condolences on your loss, Zyada. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/17 "2019-01-05T15:43:33Z")
Condolences to **Zyada**. And very big congrats to **SpoilerVirgin**. Impressive! I hope the password works now. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/18 "2019-01-05T15:49:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As an aside, since we’re in CS now and all, Asimov used something very much like this as the plot of one of his Black Widowers mysteries. It was very important for the guest to figure out the password of a fellow who was now dead, but various clues indicated that the password consisted of 14 letters, from which Henry guessed that it was the initial letters of the lines of a sonnet, and then it was just a matter of guessing what the dead guy’s favorite sonnet was from various other clues. The one that ends “They also serve who only stand and wait” as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/19 "2019-01-06T00:49:38Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > The one that ends “They also serve who only stand and wait” as I recall. I loved The Black Widower stories. I’m going to have to find that one. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213/20 "2019-01-06T01:22:01Z")
That was it! > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > This is the most SDMB thread ever, and in the best way. Bob would have been so proud. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loomw-ym-ad-nbr-can-someone-identify-this-poem/827213.md?page=2)