I knew Ali, like rainbows reflected in gas leaks
I knew Sean, like veterans of a forgotten time
It's the requiem of beat poetry;
It's the requiem of beat poetry;

Ophelia, dear sweet, perpetual ambassador to grief
Spoke in stutter, the tempo of her existence.
It's the requiem of beat poetry;
It's the requiem of beat poetry;

The rhapsody of a dream
The madonna of a disbelief
The dictionary of a malady
- and the requiem of beat poetry

Holden, swimming in thoughts of effigy
Back and forth, to his musical notes
It's the requiem of beat poetry;
It's the requiem of beat poetry;

I knew Chris, a main character in a falsetto cry
I knew him, a mosaic of a man's image
It's the requiem of beat poetry;
It's the requiem of beat poetry;

The rhapsody of a dream
The madonna of a disbelief
The dictionary of a malady
- and the requiem of beat poetry

And if I don't feel enough to rhyme anymore
will you sing a song for the dead?