How could I have dared to wine of my life's trivial sorrows in verse,
When I am one among a country of gluttons, Kings of consumption.
I have only suffered as a result from my choices and not from the curse
Of being born prejudged an outcast by brutes and bullies' assumptions.
I must even love the negative responses to my behaviors which are seen as
 so eccentric.
The harsher my critics, the greater my credits as an American artist
 heroic.
And, I have allies, few though they be, that give me a strength that's
 electric.
So what if my income's so low that my lifestyle is on the poor side of
 stoic.
I worry, sometimes, about the risks that I take by living life at its fill,
But none of those risks bring Death any closer to me or the ones that I
 love,
And I am so loved by many who are loved by many who are loved by others
 still,
So that often I feel that I must be blessed by the blessed heaven above.
May all love's strength accumulated over my life's great length
Serve and protect others who have not felt loved so much.