Don’t eulogise me with pious lies. Tell them I was a man of pubs, A man of song, But there were times When even singing and drinking Let me down; Tell them That I didn’t believe enough In myself or God, That I didn’t always live As a good man should; Tell them that I loved But not enough, Tell them that loving me Was often rough; Tell them I was selfish, I was vain But didn’t diminish responsibility Through pain; Tell them I was no stranger to the dark But was lit by stars 312 A Farewell to Poetry When the black dogs barked; Tell them I was honest, That I lied, But remember to tell them also That I tried. Don’t bury me with platitudes About Christian death. Say me like I was And commit me to the earth.
Gabriel Fitzmaurice, A Farewell to Poetry (Currach Books)
Posted here with permission for Poetry Ireland‘s #PoetryDayIRL festival with the theme ‘Written in the stars’.
