Lord Nobunaga (surrounded, the castle
on fire), knowing he would die that day,
put on his kimono and slowly danced the Nõ
in the flames. When great Hideyoshi was shõgun
and lying on his deathbed, he wept constantly.
Saying over and over, I don’t want to die.
I want to live a thousand years.
Keep me at them both.
- Jack Gilbert, 'Threshing the Fire', Collected Poems