Tamerlane’s invaders scale the Rock of Alamut
And breach the Assassin’s citadel, fortress of Hasan-i-Sabbah.
Penetrating deeper and deeper along sinister corridors,
One unwary soldier, probing an unlit tunnel,
Drops with a shriek into the secret honey-store,
And, struggling like a fly in amber, drowns.
The legendary Hasan could not die like any mortal.
Sensing death’s call, he withdrew to his sanctum,
Instructing his attendants to wait three days, then enter.
Alone, he plunged ,with a smile, into a bath of vitriol,
Blissfully dissolving into the Absolute.
On the fourth day, when the door was opened,
Not a trace of the Master remained
In the hushed room, empty except for a raven
Glaring like a demon on its perch.
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