There were women holding rosaries
   On the day Manolette died
   Teenage girls in soft white dresses
   Standing silent peace respecting
   Groups of boys held in their hands
   The fragments of a shattered idol
   The old men with their traditions challenged
   Refrained from tears
   Neck neck hook
   Poles of wood
   The Picadores stood eyes ablaze
   To view brutal contest
   In the vale of years
   Courage unfailing
   Agility exhausted
   Youth entered challenge
   Reached for title shelved
   Patrons in attendance
   To disarm a common myth
   Homage played to the victor of immortality
   Cloaked in bold tones
   In the stockyard the beasts
   Did climb their barriers
   Bid by a frenzied ring
   Bred for one purpose only
   o die in man's sport
   Dash against his spindle
   An instant fell to wounding
   On the day
   Swords penetrating
   On the day Torches igniting
   On the day
   Flower wreaths encircling
   The day On the day