If I am Jesse's son,'said he,
Where must that tall Goliath be?'For once an earlier David
Smooth pebbles from the brook:
Out between the lines he
To that one-sided tournament,
A shepherd boy who stood out
And young to fight a
Clad all in brazen mail.
He
That he's killed lions, he's killed bears,
And those that scorn the God of
Shall perish so like bear or lion.
But…the historian of the
Had not the heart to tell it right.
Striding within javelin range,
Goliath marvels at this
Goodly-faced boy so proud of strength.
David's clear eye measures the length;
With hand thrust back, he cramps one knee,
Poises a moment thoughtfully,
And hurls with a long vengeful swing.
The pebble, humming from the
Like a wild bee, flies a sure
For the forehead of the Philistine;
Then…but there comes a brazen clink,
And quicker than a man can
Goliath's shield parries each cast,
Clang! clang!
And clang! was David's last.
Scorn blazes in the Giant's eye,
Towering unhurt six cubits high.
Says foolish David,
Curse your sheild!
And curse my sling!
But I'll not yield.'He takes his staff of Mamre oak,
A knotted shepherd-staff that's
The skull of many a wolf and
Come filching lambs from Jesse's flocks.
Loud laughs Goliath, and that
Can scatter chariots like blown
To rout; but David, calm and brave,
Holds his ground, for God will save.
Steel crosses wood, a flash, and oh!
Shame for beauty's overthrow!(God's eyes are dim,
His ears are shut),
One cruel backhand sabre-cutI'm hit!
I'm killed!' young David cries,
Throws blindly forward, chokes…and dies.
Steel-helmeted and grey and
Goliath straddles over him.
For Lieut.
David Thomas, 1st Batt.
Royal Welch Fusiliers, killed at Fricourt,
March, 1916) Siegfried Sassoon was also a close friend of fellow officer David Thomas, and Sassoon's poem "Enemies" was probably inspired by his death.
