Classic Poem

When he hears the cry “Come at once! Come at once!” called out
by royal messengers of noble birth who travel here and travel there,
the man of ancient lineage dons his garland
looped with a string and goes on foot alone
and turns the difficult battle around, then straightens the bent blade
of his sword on the tusks of an elephant he had cut down
facing it straight on, and he laughs
at the man who in flight shows his back to him!