The Fall of Kang

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

"The Fall of Kang" was an epic poem written by the Klingon poet G'trok.

A quote from the poem read:

"So honor the valiant who die 'neath your sword...

But pity the warrior who slays all his foes."

"The Fall of Kang" was a required reading at Starfleet Academy. Noted Federation scientist Gideon Seyetik was quite fond of this poem, noting that despite being a little obvious, the underlying message was true nonetheless.

In 2370, during his self-proclaimed "crowning achievement," moments before igniting Epsilon 119 via shuttlepod-suicide, Seyetik quoted "The Fall of Kang", stating: "You're looking at one warrior who refuses to be pitied." (DS9: "Second Sight")

[edit] Background

It was the original intention of this poem to refer to the legendary Dahar Master Kang, from TOS: "Day of the Dove". However, unknown to the writers of "Second Sight," plans were in the works to bring Kang back for the episode "Blood Oath", which established a contradiction. It becomes conceivable, however, that the modern Kang was named after the epic figure.