Speaking of the future, Hamlet
is saying, someday this day will be over.
A moon will presumably still be above:
a bone quiet, an inflatable in the scene
—the cool blue swimming pool
it finds itself in. And I will want to be.
My mother, the Queen, will want only
my father, the King. All will be want
& get. And I will be me. And O, O,
Ophelia—will be the essence of love.
The love of a sister. Or, the love of the
brother. Compassion. Forgiveness.
All will be want & get. We will all be
together, on stage & in dress, reciting
our lines: “What a fine day. What a
wonderful way. To be.” No sirens. Fifty
stars, a cloud. A drawing of an all-night
sky. We’ll be there. You as you. And I.
Copyright © 2020 by Mary Jo Bang. Originally published with the Shelter in Poems initiative on poets.org.