What Sayeth You?
To be or not to be?
Used to be relevant, right?
Remember that thunderous
week in Honors English
when Hamlet was thrust on us
like an arrow
through our adolescent
hearts? Was his life more unfair
than ours? And was death
the only choice? Who hasn’t
suffered heartache? Who doesn’t
swim in a salty sea of troubles?
Jerry, remember him?
Wasn’t he first at everything?
Smoked a joint first, right?
And wasn’t he first to get kicked
out for drinking, too? Remember
how he alone refused to cut his hair
and called himself Jesus just to
piss off the nuns? And did you ever
see anybody climb and drop better
on monster waves at Malibu? Or
look more gorgeous in a Hawaiian
shirt? Did you fall in love with him
like Ophelia with Hamlet?
Didn’t he seem like the happiest
kid in the world? And don’t you
wonder why a guy like Jerry
hung himself with his father’s tie
that winter? I guess we’ll never know.
We’re nearly halfway through April! On Day 14 the optional NaPoWriMo prompt is to write a poem using only questions, except for the last sentence. Like a bolt of lightning, the ghosts of Shakespeare and Jerry popped into my head.
Watercolor of Hamlet and Ophelia by Mikhal Vrubel, 1883
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Still Life with Tortillas 
Just came across you blog. I love the artwork combined with poems.
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Thanks, RP! Seems like a perfect marriage. I can’t wait to check out your rural poems.
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Wowza! Great stuff, Susan. Bravo.
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Thanks, Victoria. Loved the questioning approach!
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There’s a story in this one—I mean something that demands five thousand more words….unless you’ve already done it–if so, I’d like to see it…if not, hope you can write it.
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There is a story in this, jd, but it needs to stay written on my heart…don’t know how this sorrowful bit slipped out.
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You got me. Pow-punch. Brought out the Jerry in my closet, also dead.
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Wow! You must be my long lost sister! Really? Jerry, too?
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Dear Susan,
What a powerful piece. I am very glad to have discovered your blog, and look forward to future posts.
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Naomi, thanks so much. I feel the same about your blog! You’re a dazzling writer.
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Thank you, Susan. I think like I’m a pretty good storyteller who feels the same things that might inspire another person to write poetry, but I can only admire the skill of the poet without hoping to ever capture the feelings with such eloquence and brevity.
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I am glowing like a firefly who loves to hear a good story.
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