For 'Hamlet' In New Zealand Poem by Gabrielle Ciarann Roniyah Baer

In a dark place,
On a nearly empty stage,
We can all see by the light of words penned centuries ago

Not just by the unmatched gift of the world's poet laureate,
But the incredible, generous gift of a troupe of artists,
And the irreplaceable gift of the man at their lead.

And by the gift of many friends,
I came as close as possible to being there,
To seeing and hearing and feeling that play,

That glorious work of art and fire, of light and music,
which for centuries has stood as the triumphant proof
of each generation's actor's art,

richard burbage, and edmund kean, and the truly tragic edmund booth,
elenora duse, and even sarah bernhardt dared the role of the dark prince,
john barrymore, john gielgud, and lord olivier all tested themselves as
hamlet, and won their times' high praise,

so many, it would take all day to name,
but these few more must join the list
and a list it is, a trial by fire and light and music
such as the world has rarely seen,

so i will add, burton, and williamson,
chamberlain and gibson, jacobi and
branagh, all proving themselves
in the greatest challenge of the western stage,
all differently, as the bard's work allows
And now, proven twice over, one name more,

Without seeing, without hearing, without journeying to that stage,
we still know a 'Muse of fire' stooped from Olympus
to charge the boards with vivid, passionate, powerful life
and for that gift the only word left us is 'thanks'.

much thanks, michael.


(written in 2004)