I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death. I hear him leading his horse out of the stall;
I hear the clatter on the barn-floor.
He is in haste;
He has business in Cuba,
Business in the Balkans,
Many calls to make this morning.
But I will not hold the bridle while he cinches the girth.
And he may mount by himself:
I will not give him a leg up.
Though he flicks my shoulders with his whip,
I will not tell him which way the fox ran.
With his hoof on my breast,
I will not tell him where the black boy hides in the swamp.
I shall die,
But that is all that I shall do for Death;
I am not on his payroll.
I will not tell him the whereabout of my friends nor of my enemies either.
Though he promises me much,
I will not map him the route to any man's door.
Am I a spy in the land of the living,
That I should deliver men to Death?
Brother, the password and the plans of our city are safe with me;
Never through me shall you be overcome.
