Wednesday, September 18, 2013

"To Sleep or Not to Sleep": A Poem Inspired by Hamlet



To sleep or not to sleep, that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler to get out of bed and suffer
The painstaking process of getting ready for school
Or to remain under the comforter for a few more minutes
And beat the odds by still arriving on time. Sleep is beautiful,
Nothing more; and if we sleep we end
The stress of school and the piles of homework
That teenagers face: sleep is a blessing
To be wished for: To sleep, to dream;
To sleep, and become well-rested- but, there’s the catch:
The more sleep we have, the less homework is getting done
We may fail our tests from lack of studying
This makes us hesitate- for as much as we want to rest
We also want to succeed in school
This is what makes us deal with the suffering
Of endless nights and brutal mornings

1 comment:

  1. This poem is so (unfortunately) true to life as a high-schooler. I appreciate how you manipulated the lines of the soliloquy to fit this particular situation. I liked the shift in the text with the lines "To sleep, to dream; / To sleep, and become well-rested- but, there’s the catch: / The more sleep we have, the less homework is getting done." I understand your struggle, Becky. Far too well. You're very right when you say "Sleep is beautiful, / Nothing more."

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