Henry Shakespeare

To bet, or not to bet,
when to stay, to raise,
whether draw two cards,
whether three, these
are the things I tried
to teach my brother.
All the world's not words,
I told him. Will, this
is just a stage you're
going through, I said.
Fate, who dealt us thus,
Pluck, her bastard spawn,
answer not to pleas
of words and charmings.
The life of this world
be the toss, a gaming,
the love of this life
Dame Chance, and her
undiscover'd address.
One makes orisons to
Lady Luck in vanity.
That nymph--outrageous
fortune--pierces alike
all with odds' bodkin:
saint, ignoble, knave,
the most intrepid knight.
Quiet us. Soft you now.
The protest be too much.
Rub thine eyes with sleep,
If thou can, for there
is no dread in thy bed.
The name of action is
to dare, and forebear.
The rest: a die's science.
I went my way; he his.

Dennis Saleh