And stood as merciless as stone.
The eunuchs came: fierce scimitars
Stirred in the torch-lit corridors.
She spoke like one who prays in sleep,
And bade me strike or she would leap.
I bade her leap; the time was short;
And kept the dagger for my heart.
She leapt. I put their blades aside
And smiling in their faces—died.