I do not think I'd care to be a judge,
And deeply ponder
Whether I should stand "pat" and never budge,
Or, mayhap, wander,
From old pronouncements, if I deemed the course
To be expedient,
In that it might some fractious Union force
To turn obedient.
While the fight raged and argument grew hot
With sharp divisions,
Should I with opportunists cast my lot
Or with precisions?
Should I uphold the prestige of my Court
Nor yield a tittle,
Or, seeking peace, decide to be a sport
And, hedge a little?
Should I be firm, dispensing law without
Equivocation?
Or should I, rather, torn by vexing doubt,
Make stipulation?
Were I a judge, Hamlet might bother me
With vague suggestion:
To be Beeby, or not to be Beeby --
That is the question.
First published in The Herald, 8 December 1927
Note: the "Beeby" of the last verse is Sir Joseph Stevenson Beeby (1869-1942), a judge on the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration at the time.
Author reference sites: C.J. Dennis, Austlit, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian Poetry Library
See also.
