“To be, or not to be,
that is the question:
Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind to suffer.
The Slings & Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep.”
What words, what images,
What off-beat verses!
Did-di-dum-dum —
Plus pauses, when appropriate;
Exploring eagerness now,
Mellowness later.
Indulge me, please,
Peasant that I am;
Your phrases:
Where mined you them?
In deep shafts, dark & dank?
Or mountaintops, cold & clear?
“To be, or not to be …”
What means that?
Fine actors in grand theaters
Still express this six-word text —
Jolting sluggish brain waves:
Baffling, perplexing & puzzling them.
“To be, or not to be …”
Alive? Dead? Asleep? Awake?
“What light through yonder window breaks?”
Is it Juliet? The Sun? Henny Youngman?
What words, what images:
Mined, shined, refined —
Skillfully culled from Shakespeare’s fertile skull.
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