The Hamlet Project

We were standing by the rented minivan that we’d just
unloaded into my freshman dorm room.
We’d carried boxes and posters, suitcases and colorful wall hangings
All the parental figures there (were there 3 or 4?) were due to make their exit.
My father put his hand on my shoulder and began to speak
This speech to me.
I laughed.
I recognized it right away –
“Isn’t that funny that my father just said a line from Hamlet for his parting words”
But he kept going
while my mother and I laughed
he pushed through
line after line
imparting Polonius’ parting advice
to me
in all sincerity.
When he’d finished, I hugged him
probably through tears, though I don’t recall the tears.
I thought perhaps he’d memorized this speech in college or something and had retained it all these years
But no,
He’d learned it specifically for this occasion.
He sat down with Hamlet on his lap
And learned every line of this advice
Til he could say it like
It was his
Like this was his advice
Like he could pull advice from 400 years ago and impart it
To me. I still feel it like a blessing.