What was the love that pushed his quill

Across pages of parchment, churning out words

That swim through the ages, touching us here

In ways that we struggle to formulate now.

Was he a human with feelings like us,

How did those lines spout from a man?

Perhaps he was alien, from a planet afar,

Just watching people like animals in zoos,

Learning our manners in a way we refuse.

I remember when I was in Year 10 and studying for my GCSEs and I have a vivid memory of acting out a scene from Romeo and Juliet and thinking about Shakespeare writing those words.

It was a strange thought and it may have stemmed from the fact that Shakespeare in Love had just come out. But, I remember wondering if he could have fathomed that 400 years later a bunch of kids would still be reading out his words in school.

That must be mind blowing for a writer, to know that you have had that effect on the world. But it does beg the question: what the hell was his life like?

He must have had such a passionate and exciting life – to be able to come up with all those stories that still ring true in our hearts and minds. It makes me think that perhaps he wasn’t even human.

It just goes to show that being one of us stirs up the same feeling regardless of the time or place. The internet or world wide travel makes no difference when it comes to heartbreak and love and power and conflict. It never changes.

Much Love

Rachel xx