To Write or Not to Write · 14 September 2024
To write or not to write. That is the question.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The indignation of critics and their critiques
Or to lay down the pen never to write again
And end the critiques. Ah to die, to sleep
No more to write. No more to hear the critics.
No more to suffer the heartache and pain
Of deadlines and writer’s block and idealess days
But what of ideas? What of the words that lie dormant?
What of the stories that will never be told?
To be silent, to rest – ay, there’s the rub
For who will tell the stories when no one writes?
Who will speak for those who have no voice?
Who will write the words to fill up the internet?
Whether they be high-minded or mediocre or even less
Ideas must be shared. They must be given voice.
Yet who is to say that this MediocreMan must share them?
That a man of low estate can speak for any but himself?
Ay, there’s another rub. For can any speak for all?
Nay, but only for himself. But that must be the point.
We must shout for joy and cry in sadness.
We must give utterance to our deepest hopes and basest fears
To our grandest ideas and most sublime poetry
To our most glorious triumphs and most inglorious defeats.
Yet who can determine which is which?
Who but Father Time has the wisdom to judge
What thoughts, what ideas, what stories shall stand?
What rhymes and reasons shall be given heed?
And therein lies the answer. To write. To write.
For without writing, ideas disappear never to be wrought
Stories unfold without pomp, never being retold
Victories are as worthless never to be regaled.
So write the stories whether they are ever retold
Regale the victories, sing them out bright and bold
Work through the ideas until they become clear
Write on. Write on. Though no one holds your words dear.
To write or not to write? That is a silly question.
[With regards and apologies to William Shakespeare (Hamlet) and his fans.]
© 2024 Michael T. Miyoshi
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