Shakespeare – Dear Liza

Fall Beauty

October 23, 2025

Dear Liza,

Our Portland Fall has kicked into colorful overdrive this week.

I love this time of year, with the cooler temperatures and rain giving abundant permission to stay inside with books, yea, and kittens. Calm is easier in Fall than in frantic, growing Summer.

It also feels like Shakespeare weather. I read through the sonnets and found the one that had been tickling my brain. I have taken the liberty of modernizing the language and cutting two lines which leaned a bit too heavily on death for my taste.

Rewritten Sonnet 73

That time of year you may in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon these boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me you see the twilight of such day

After sunset has faded in the west.

In me you see the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of my youth do lie,

As the bed whereon it must expire,

Consumed with that which it was nourished by.

This you perceive, which makes your love more strong,

To love that well which you must leave ere long.

And before you worry, I am happy and well. Just a bit older and Autumn-introspective.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Parody of Sonnet 29

Dear Liza,

Here I am again, playing with Shakespeare! One of his more famous Sonnets is Number 29, which starts, “When in disgrace in fortune and men’s eyes…”. It talks about how hard it is to be down on your luck and jealous of other people’s successes, and how nice it is, in those hard times, to have someone in your life who loves you best.

Inspired by our current global mess, here is my take.

Parody of Sonnet 29

Now in disgrace upon the global stage
Our once-proud nation fumbles forward, blind
Led by a man-child driven by bent rage
Fueled by the remnants of his tiny mind

In Germany their leader knows the facts
And South Korea quickly got the jump
But here the scientists all got the ax
If, in their knowledge, they spoke anti-Trump

But there is hope out in the country wide
In folks who want to keep their fellows safe
We can be careful, even stay inside,
E’en when the confines of our houses chafe

To save ourselves from tantrum throwing men,
We need to be the grown-ups, once again

Hope you are well, and stay well!

Love, Grandma Judy

Tardigrade Poetry

Dear Liza,

By now, you know I love writing silly poetry. I like learning new forms and playing with the rhyme schemes, discovering which words fit the pattern and the meaning.

You also know I love tardigrades. These tiny animals are about the size of a comma on this page. They are found in forests and are also called water bears or moss piglets. Scientists have studied them and found that they can survive intense heat, years of being dried out, and even the vacuum of outer space.

So, there is the mystery. WHY would an animal on Earth have evolved these features? What ELSE can they do?

A different tardigrade (I think, it’s hard to really tell…)

It is their mysterious origins and almost cute “bear-like” features that have inspired our friend Betsy Streeter to do a series of drawings that celebrate their versatility in cartoon-ish hyperbole. You can find more of her work on Instagram @betsystreeter or email her at tinyletter.com/betsystreeter.

Her drawings, in turn, have inspired me to write a parody of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 about the little critters.

“Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio…..”
”Bardigrade” by Betsy Streeter

From “Sonnet 18”

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s gnat?

Thou art more handsome and more alluring

Mere swats can squash a tiny bug like that,

But tardigrade, thou art ‘ere enduring

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines

The tardigrade just laughs and snuggles down

Sometimes the icy voice of space opines

The tardigrade regards it without frown

For thy eternal tiny-ness goes on,

Delighting those with minds which seek you out

Thy protein-bas’ed armor thou shalt don

Proving thy just perfection, without doubt

So long as we can live, and learn and see,

Thou, tardigrade, our Shakespeare-buddy, be.

Silliness reigns supreme!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Shakespearean Corona Sonnet

Dear Liza,

I have studied a lot of Shakespeare‘s writings, and I love how his plays tell human stories that haven’t changed much since the 16th century. Forbidden romances, jealous siblings, and greedy politicians are all very contemporary.

Poetry has rhyme schemes and beats, called “feet”. The sonnet form I am playing with has ten feet per line, four lines in each of the three stanzas, and a rhyming couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. It is called the Shakespearean Sonnet.

Someone else’s take on Trump via the Bard

Many talented authors have been inspired to write parodies of President Trump, because of his personality and seemingly endless need for attention. He seems to have the same “tragic flaws” as many of Shakespeare’s characters. I have been inspired to use a Shakespearean Sonnet to write a poem about our current situation. Here it is:
**********

ODE TO A REAL TRUMP

Corona virus has us locked inside
To try and let the scientists learn more
Though some, inspired by His foolish pride
Head out to let their childish voices roar

But most of us, seeing the greater need
And following directions as we should
Allow the pace of life to go half-speed
And take it easy, for the common good

Now locked away within our cozy homes
We spend our days alone, or with our clan

Imprisoned in our stately pleasure domes
We see our leader as a worthless man

This is the lens through which we see so clear,

It’s Trump, more than the virus, we should fear.

***********

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Love,

Grandma Judy