My Requested Epitaph

Here lies a poet,
a man of intellect and industry in this respect
AND WISDOM AND WIT OFT FELL FROM HIS PEN,

but he was just a man,

and as every man will have failings and bad ways,
he had many:
he was at times greedy
(if in a primitive forgivable, primitive way):
Worse, he was oft unbalanced,
one day a coward
the next over-brave,
tending to obsession, depression,
elation, and artificial intoxication
(an insane son of an insane nation)

But these were not his only faults:
too many a beggar received from him a fish or an apple,
and too many a petty soul re-payed his gold with a serpent.
Also, he was far too devoted to his unwanted art,
too prone to dance, song,
merriment, and spontaneous travel,
(a man of ideas and epiphanies,
fit for the library and the art gallery
but without the workman's patience,
the businessman's cunning,
or the warrior's audacity.)

But judge not so heavily these faults:
he wasn't born to privilege
or in a community of thoughtful seekers;
his imaginative, scholarly nature wasn't justly rewarded,
while inferior boys were by all the girls adored
for running with a ball or just sporting costly sneakers.

So bless you if you bring here flowers,
!!or far better honest love!!,
but pour no liquor please
(as one need not drown the seas)
and say no prayer to Gods above,
for he wisely had no use for these.

No, consecrate this ground
with primal sounds and dances,
with fierce and gentle love-making,
and with the reading of ground-breaking verse:
let it be a sacred place
for the regaining of hope
!!and the releasing of doves!!