Ode to Nan Min - IV (Sonnet) With some justification you protest The fewer tributes I have made to thee And would the Philadelphienne contest Who has commanded twelve from two to me. What's in a number? Nan by any score Would shine as bright beyond a writer's skill As Hercules to Hamlet, [1] and implore A lifetime's ingenuity to fill. This race on which you have embarked, you win Before taking one stride, for every ode Writ to another claims thee sovereign When to your honor it may be bestowed. Pray understand my meaning if you would: You represent the sum of womanhood. [1]      See William Shakespeare, 'Hamlet', I.ii.156-157