Hamlet ~ Ahmad Shamloo
To be
Or not to be?
It is not a question
But
a temptation
Poisoned
wine
In
the goblet
And
the venom-soaked bodkin
In
the villain’s hand
Everything
is clear
Beforehand
And well calculated
And
the curtain
Will
fall
In
a determined time
As
if my father had slept
In
the garden of Gethsemane
That
my role is the legacy
Of
his deceitful trust
And the bed of his deception
My
uncle’s glee
[ I
perceived this all suddenly
With
a quick glance
By mere chance
At
the onlookers
That watch ]
Only
if trust
Like another Satan
Had
not unawares
Lulled into forgetfulness
Yet another Cain
To another Gethsemane
God, O God!
What trickery
But what
trickery!
That
he who sits beyond
The
discolored curtain of gloom watching
Is
aware of this tragedy in full
And already knows
My
tale of sorrow
Word
for word
Beyond
that pale curtain of darkness
Eyes
have paid
Coins
of silver and gold
To witness my agony
And joyfully applaud
The
free game of tears
In
the dissonance of the voice
And
breath of him
Who
pretentiously
Takes
doubt in the truth
How then can I
Plead their aid
When
in the end
They summon
My uncle and I
to bow before them as equals?
They summon
My uncle and I
to bow before them as equals?
Though
my suffering
Had
sent them word
That Claudius
Is
not an uncle
But
an import
Most
common
And
the curtain...
In
a moment determined...
Notwithstanding
From
that moment
Truth
Like
a wandering restless ghost
Was
revealed to me
And
the rot of the world
Like
the smoke of a torch
Upon
the stages of falsehood
Burnt
my nostrils
It
is not a question
But
a temptation:
To
be
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