Epigraph Question

So, poems are generally considered out of bounds for epigraph quotes. I had a quote from a poem I wanted to use at the opening of my book. Here is the quote from the poem:

Trauma said, “Don’t write these poems. No one wants to hear you cry about the greif inside you boens.

My bones said, “write the peoms.”

I was disuaded form making this potential copywriting infringement error and instead went with a fair use quote from the book Wuthering Heights:

Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same and a pain binds us together.

The quote fits the theme of the book - it’s a true story of twins separated by a medical tragedy.

Well, now there is a Wuthering Heights movie and its apperently rather salacious and full of added sex and sexual innuendo. I don’t know if I want to be associated with the movie by using the epigraph.

But, in reading the copyright page of the book in which the original epigraph poem was published, I noticed the following. The page reads “no part of this book may be performed or written without consent from the author, if living.”

Well, sadly, the author of the poem passed away a few years back. Does that mean I can now use parts of the poem or would you still avoid it to be safe? Thoughts? Advice? Wisdom from the group? Should I stick with the Wuthering Heights quote and not worry about the movie and its gratuitous sexual content?