Almanac Poetry: Not Quite Yorick
Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard, by Eugene Delacroix, oil on canvas, 1839. Louvre Museum, Paris. [Wikimedia Commons.]
Not Quite Yorick
I feel like Hamlet,
except that what I’m looking at
is not a skull.
The death mask I’m observing
is typical of such artefacts:
the subject appears dignified,
seems to have died content,
and displays a serene quality
that he rarely revealed in life.
Read more from Kevin Densley HERE
Kevin Densley’s latest poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws…I’m Feeling Too Indolent, is available HERE
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His sixth book-length poetry collection, Isle Full of Noises, was published in early 2026 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
Always remember the Ned Kelly death mask on the school excursion in the 70s. Spooked me. I wanted to ask him so many questions.
Thanks for your comment, Dips. I can relate to what you’re saying about Ned’s death mask. I recall seeing it at the Old Melbourne Gaol. The time I went to the gaol there was also an exhibition of death masks of various other executed men – it was a macabre event that had a strong effect upon me.