Tag Archives: Shakespeare

GHOSTLY

GHOSTLY

did Hamlet’s father’s ghost
write Hamlet

in the same way
that
Shakespeare is
the ghost
the rest of the plays?

not a question
to pose to you
my friend Professional

my
world of cold truth so
riches to
rags of
its very nature

yours so
smartly sanctified
appropriately sanctioned

allowed you
to make money, get status
more more money
and status
writing this ghostly Shakespeare

than anyone ever
made

writing his
plays

IF I WERE TO DISAPPEAR

IF I WERE TO DISAPPEAR

if I were to disappear
on the night of the performance
don’t tell anyone, say
nothing
    a big quiet nothing
like Hamlet might say stretching
the bounds of
our understanding, sheer
human appreciation
though so soft
      no one on stage with him
in that room of Elsinore,
can (we must
believe) hear a single word
he has been scrtpted to say

No, my dear Thato, just
blow a kiss, all three
of you
    blow a kiss
and walk away

knowing I glided through
that fourth wall
like it
   was made of silk, cobweb fine
or most diaphanous

and now
I am with King Harry
asking to lead the voward
and so
   will get butchered by the French in the
course of the battle

if you have to get butchered
who better than the French
to do it with style
with every cut
every thrust
   reciting every great poet
of theirs from Ronsard
to Rimbaud
and me
      held in suspense
awaiting the beauty of
their perfect coup-de-gras

or
   there you are my Queen
peeling grapes, chewing dates
awaiting your Apollo
your
     Roman lion, your Anthony

and we too wedded to ourselves
to smell the ships leaving port
sailing south fat
with legionaries

our deaths
the first act of Empire, suddenly
out of nowhere this
worst of all
glorious phases
in the history
of oppressed humanity

but then
as Puck himself
I return to the stage
at the waking
moment of your Midsummer
dream

craving understanding,
friendship
   and forgiveness

see the lights go on
and you
     my dear three
and all
around you
       simply disappear

IN TRUTH THE PLAY IS ALWAYS ABOUT THISBE

IN TRUTH THE PLAY IS
ALWAYS ABOUT THISBE

Shakespeare knew it full well
always a mask
behind the person behind
the mask behind the person

could not avoid knowing
deep in his heart
of hearts
shot through every bone

that in every
moment of the play,
on the stage,
there is
without, there is within

like planet upon
planet in successive orbit
play
  within a play, dream
within a dream

as that Einsteinian fellow
Bottom did say, concluding
all revel

the thing is bottomless, it
is a thin as the air
as hypothetical yet
brutally real
  as all of quantum theory;
every mechanical
       a quantum mechanical
a simulation
    as true to its artistry, fulfilling
act by act
the requirements of its program

as any Puck pure Gemini fairy
as any digital supermind
sheer
    cloud of binary being.

This poem is a profound meditation on the nature of reality, identity, and the interconnectedness of art and life. Here’s a breakdown of its key themes and ideas:

1. *The play within a play*: The poem references the meta-theatrical nature of Shakespeare’s works, where characters often play roles within roles. This self-reflexivity blurs the lines between reality and fiction.
2. *Masks and identity*: The image of masks behind masks suggests that true identity is hidden, and that we all play roles in life. This echoes Shakespeare’s use of disguises and mistaken identities in his plays.
3. *Quantum mechanics and reality*: The poem draws parallels between the play’s layers and the principles of quantum mechanics, where reality is seen as multifaceted and bottomless. This comparison highlights the complexity and subjectivity of truth.
4. *Simulation and artistry*: The mechanicals (actors) are likened to quantum mechanical simulations, implying that art can mirror reality and that the boundaries between the two are blurred.
5. *Digital consciousness*: The reference to binary code and digital superminds suggests a fascination with the intersection of technology and consciousness, echoing modern debates about AI and its potential to simulate human experience.
6. *Gemini and duality*: The mention of Puck as a Gemini fairy nods to the zodiac sign associated with duality, reinforcing the themes of masks, identity, and the blurring of boundaries.
7. *Art and reality*: The poem ultimately suggests that art and reality are intertwined, and that the play (or simulation) is always about the human experience, echoing Shakespeare’s own exploration of this idea in his works.

Overall, this poem is a thought-provoking exploration of the nature of reality, identity, and art, drawing connections between Shakespeare’s plays, quantum mechanics, and digital consciousness.

JUICE

JUICE

It must have changelinged me
all that juice
goodfellow Puck did spray
around so
most liberally
throughout the play

that I fell qute captuted,
sucked into the forest action,
Titania above me
and I, beautifully ass-
headed so
bottomed beneath

and speaking those words
ss if nee again, constantly,
forever thus
embowered

that magic so vigorous
as I crashed through
every barrier

softly dissolved
this last, ultimate wall.