"But no! I'll not yield!" he fiercely cries,
"I'm as good a man as he!"
And girding his poniard, he follows after,
To search out his enemy.
The kinsmen then, on either side,
In solemn conclave met,
As a token forever and evermore—
Some monument for to set,
That the story might pass from mouth to mouth,
While heav'n and earth shall stand;
So they laid the maiden in the midst,
And the champions on either hand.
And I, when I hear the mournful tale,
I melt into bitter tears,
As though these lovers I never saw
Had been mine own compeers.
Mushimaro.
THE GRAVE OF THE MAIDEN OF UNÁHI
I stand by the grave where they buried
The Maiden of Unáhi,
Whom of old the rival champions
Did woo so jealously.
The grave should hand down through ages
Her story for evermore,
That men yet unborn might love her,
And think on the days of yore.