“To thine own self, be true…”

Polonius, “Hamlet” Act 1, scene 3.

an April night

like any other, except

it’s the Bard’s birthday

“What of it, when scholars say

legions of monkeys will do?”

a starless sky

and the debate over his

relevance goes on

“What can Shakespeare say to us

that televised moon landings?”

Primetime

what sitcom today cannot

trace its roots to him?

“Vapid comedies, stilted

cliche-strung, passe rhetoric?”

Modern drama

which of his tragedies did

their writers not steal?

“what original thought did

that playwright bring to the stage?”

What language intensity

has another accomplished?

shattering sunrise

daggers and skulls before them;

rose for their dying

iambic pentameter

bringing characters to life

teary eyes

or a boistrous laugh, even

across centuries

That we still care to challenge

proves Shakespear’s relevance

A bow to the bard

then, on his birth and death day,

passing this new moon

that true to his legacy

we remain true to ourselves