In Reply to Hamlet

“To be, or not to be?” asked Hamlet's soul,
a mind transfixed between looming limbo
and life's thin, airy hold; this loathsome role,
philosophers and poets have played (though

some now sleep). Not wealth, nor the lap of pleasure,
nor thought, strength, health, youth, nor unbridled power,
nor in the feet of this poem's solemn measure,
can be found the answer: life's but a flower,

a precious gift, that lives for a short time.
Still, enjoy its frail beauty and brief glory
while it's here, for in life all that's sublime
and dark in this world is just transitory.

None can say for sure if the sleep of death
is g'ntler than life: so, cherish every breath.



Sonnet by Ngoc Nguyen The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 200 times
star mini Editors' choice
Written on 2023-10-24 at 20:11

Tags Hamlet  Despair  Suicide 

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Editorial Team The PoetBay support member heart!
Congratulations! Your poem has been chosen to be featured on our home page by a fellow member of PoetBay. Thank you for posting on our poetry website!
2023-11-13


Sameen The PoetBay support member heart!
So, you favor to be rather than not to be eh?
2023-10-25


one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
I like "the measure" of your poem, but find the last couplet hugely unsettling.

What a frightening thought!
2023-10-24