Poem by Chantal Do

To aid or not to aid: that is the question: 
Whether ‘tis better for others to suffer 
The baskets of maize from lands of foreign, 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
And by giving end them. To listen: to dictate; 
No more; and by dead aid to say we end 
The malnutrition, and the thousand natural shocks 
That the lands are bound to, ‘tis a consummation 
Devoutly to be evaded. To listen, to dictate; 
To listen: perchance to care: ay there's the rub; 
For in that aid, corruption arises,  
When we’ve extracted all resources, 
Must give us pause; there’s the alliance 
That grants access to exploitation;  
For who would bear the prosperity and not the graves. 

The poem is modelled on Mr. Shakespeare's famous lines form Hamlet.  

Chantal Do is a second-year student at UC Davis majoring in International Agricultural Development (with an emphasis on Economics & Trade). Chantal hopes to make a change in the world so that less people have to suffer. 

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