Armenian Legends and Poems: Concerning Death

From Adam's time until this day,
No soul hath had immortal breath;
Thou heed’st not what the Scriptures say--
The sinner's punishment is death.

He that had palaces of gold,
And brilliant cities, fortress-bound,
Hath left behind his wealth untold,
And lies beneath the sodden ground.

Who loved to quaff the spicy wine,
And spent his life in ribaldry,
I saw him like a swollen swine,--
A loathsome corpse, unsavoury.

The man that rode an arch-necked steed
And flashed his sword around to slay,
I saw him penitent indeed:--
Between two wooden planks he lay.