Something is Rotten in Denmark (A Poem about Shakespeare's Hamlet)

Something is Rotten in Denmark

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

Horrors these unmasked eyes have seen

Many committed by the traitorous King and Queen

But their ears are deaf and their eyes are blind

Those in madness not yet resigned

A princeessentially not in madness, but mad in craft

A manipulative King, and Leartes who is quite daft

Many fathers dead, many sons seeking revenge

O horror, I fear for their very ends!

Denmark: a place where betrayal runs deep

Incestuous actions are committed while others sleep

Revenge is sought by those left behind,

so maddening it often leaves them blind

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

The castle is filled with paintings and illusions

often responsible for uneducated conclusions

A false whisper, a false tip of the hand

Perhaps even, a false wedding band

No one really knows who to trust anymore

For even old friends are now at war

They wear masks and play Hamlet like a flute

Now the voice of reason on his ears falls mute

Cain hath slain Abel in cold blood again,

The result: a ghost in purgatory, revenge on the brain!

Power, corruption, blindness, and decay

all produce a prince in dismay

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

The mad prince has donned an actor's cloak to show,

but these be the trappings and the suits of woe

False grief, the prince admits he sees

Disgusted and angry with their lack of empathy

Hamlet: driven by madness or in craft, I know not

The Queen is too undecided; her soul has black spots!

Reason, sanity, and clarity may exist

but for now, only madness seems to bring forth bliss

In a moment of panic, do your true colours show?

Hamlet has murdered Polonius and must lie low

However, Laertes soon finds out

he acts rashly without a moment's doubt

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

Ophelia's mind is in tatters,

Her father was killed by the one man who mattered

Laertes is sick with grief,

now he too is searching for revenge and relief

Since the evil King sits on a false throne

Denmark is a place where only weeds are grown

Poison kills flowers and those who are sweet,

the Green Girl drowned, what an awful feat!

Now we lay her down to sleep,

Her sins, however, the earth shall keep

From her unpolluted flesh may violets spring

Let us remember her with a final blessing

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

Let Hercules himself do what he may,

The cat will mew, and dog will have his day

Eventually, even the nobelist men turn to dust

We all die one day, we must, we must

Denmark: a place where words are misguiding

The King has the hand of an actor; unabiding

He has tricked Laertes into doing his bidding,

Hamlet, be wary of the falsehoods he's committing!

You must come carefully upon your hour

for one flawed move ends your false power

He has poisoned the cup and foil too

Hamlet, you must not let the venom touch you!

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

A duel will decide your final fate

Hamlet, do not fall for the Serpent's bait!

But look now, as Gertrude drinks

Claudius won't confess; she dies in a blink

A great battle then ensues

and Hamlet learns the truth of Gertrude

His father and mother now both dead

Both murdered by thoughts from Claudius's head

Hamlet; blinded with anger and grief

finally seeks revenge on the insolent thief

But alas, Hamlet is mortal too,

the poisoned foil has run him through

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

And so here I stand in this bloody throne room

everyone dead, all too soon

And so I tell you of Hamlet's woeful end

and therefore his dying wish, I urge you to attend

'Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart;

for you now know the truth of rotten Denmark