Elegy, Eulogy, Epitaph

Elegy, Eulogy, Epitaph

he said, 
"upon my death
there's no guarantee
i'll receive
an elegy, eulogy or epitaph
but if i do
any of them
will be good enough
if they say
'he is dead'
and nothing
more."

i asked,
"why no more?"

he said,
"because i choose to die
without demons
and villains. so please,
if you can,
grant me that, at least."

"why?"

"because it's been
too hard knowing
what are the demons
and who
are the villains.
so i've chosen
not do judge."

"you are too weak for judgement.
too weak for morality.
perhaps you are a coward?"

"yes. too weak," he said.
"too weak to judge without
flattering myself. too weak
to judge without vanity. so
i leave judgement to others."

"in this case, it sounds
like courage, leaving your
legacy in the hands of them."

"call it what you will. but
promise in my eulogy, elegy, epitaph
to only pass along that i am dead. 
please, no more. and no less."

when he died
i granted his wish
which made him
a far better man
than me

in the decades
since his passing
i believe
i've come
to understand
there's too much speculation
too much subjectivity
too much deception
by anyone
including ourselves
in knowing
who and what we are
where we are
before and after death
somewhere 
or nowhere
better than before?

but his statement
"he is dead"
was definitive
and left no
room
for error
or 
misinterpretation
the way
his life
could never have been
only his legacy
could be