To Be or Not To Be: That Is the Question

To Be or Not To Be: That Is the Question


T o be the harlot of the king
O r to take Hamlet with sting

B eguiling with a painted face upon
E ver dancing ‘round as if wanton

O r shall I not escape the calumny
R ich colors hiding in a nunnery?

N ay, I shall not conceal myself in ignorance!
O r accept the numb part of the ambivalence
T wo minds I am not and my will henceforth

T o be known only to myself as a plague
O f the kind that drove Hamlet to beg.

B e it my beauty that drove him mad?
E ver more his soul in despair and sad

T hat is the question he should ask the air
H owever much he tries to deny in unfair
A ttempts to discredit my honor to amble
T orrid in his wrath of my supposed betrayal

I t is only my duty to obey my father’s word
S olicitous of my virtue he hath made it heard

T o a nunnery I should go says he;
H ither a jig and gone away with me
E nticement he will allow no more.

Q uest of revenge, ‘O but why for?
U ndermining our love for ghosts of the dead
E nding our unrequited bliss in shrill dread
S weet heavens help me not to dwell
T oo long as he sends my soul to hell
I n disgust, he puts me away from him
O f my own heart, he twists a foul sin.
N ay, I shall not suffer this life through the year…



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