Testimony
Trying to say things you are called upon
To say spares you having to say things
You’d rather not. So speech can form
A barrier against itself on your behalf.
Like Hamlet, you say what you must,
Disclosing what courtiers and lackeys need
To hear, boasting of crimes timid souls regard
As grand (though mere eruptions of rage
And appetite), keeping to yourself embarrassing
Desires likely to arouse contempt or scorn.
And yet …to slay a beggar or a king, filch
A candy from a maiden aunt, or idly crush
A swarm of ants beneath your foot —
These graceless gestures differ
Only in degree. Brave souls stay
The hand, lift the foot, mount the scaffold,
Mindful of a throne’s discomfort.
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