Epitaph

Let there be no footnotes
After I die
Explaining the hows, the what-fors
And why.

My life has been simple
With no fuss and feathers
Open to speculation
As to unspoken whethers.

All men may know me
As an uncomplicated man
Who did as he could
Who never shook, ducked or ran.

The men folk will shrug
The ladies will sigh
When the hour finally comes
And bids me to die.

So I expect to go out
The same way I came
And leave to this world
An unblemished name.

“Here lies a man…”
Let my epitaph read
“…Who lived and then died.”
That’s all that you'll need.