Turn the page, continue reading... (A sparkle)

When King Lear dies in Act 5,
do you know what Shakespeare has written?
He's written, "He dies."
That's all, nothing more.
No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words.
The culmination of the most influential work
of dramatic literature is: "He dies."
It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies."
And yet every time I read those two words,
I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria.
And I know it's only
natural to be sad,
but not because
of the words "He dies,"
but because of the life we saw
prior to the words.
I've lived all five
of my acts, Mahoney,
And I am not asking you to be happy that I must go.
I'm only asking that you
turn the page, continue reading...
and let the next story begin.
And if anyone ever asks
what became of me,
you relate my life
in all its wonder,
and end it with
a simple and modest "He died."