The end

I was aiming for a hard death and an easy life,  
Seeking to sidestep the stress and strife.  
Dreaming of a blaze of glory, up in flames, my life,  
A spectacular end, a finale rife.

I was on a mad dash to the grand spectacle,  
My name in lights, a vision so delectable.  
Shining from the TVs, a story quite respectable,  
A legacy in pixels, momentarily detectable.

My picture on the evening news, a sight to behold,  
My family puzzled, stories untold.  
An old lover whispers secrets, bold,  
"She always knew," her claims rolled.

At the funeral pyre, all gathered in a ring,  
With joy and fear, my enemies sing.  
"Good riddance, sleep well," to the mad king,  
A symphony of disdain, their voices cling.

But that's a dream for the dreary and the gray,  
For the heart seeks a larger play.  
I gotta build a life robust enough to sway,  
An effigy of a man, in the light of day.

A legacy not of ash but of deeds so grand,  
A life so full, so rich, so unplanned.  
Smile for the ones who never understand,  
Building monuments in the sand.

For the dream of glory, of a fiery blaze,  
Is but a shadow of life's true maze.  
To live, to love, in so many ways,  
An effigy of a man, through the haze.

So let the critics and the enemies chatter,  
Their words, in the end, won't matter.  
For it's the love, the life, the joyful clatter,  
That lights the flame, the heart's to flatter