Thursday, July 18, 2019

David with the Head of Goliath (Artemisia Gentileschi), Sonnet #466


My book of the first 200 of these sonnets is now available for purchase. Click here: My Human Disguise.

















It was no small stone that struck Goliath down,
But as large as the giant’s hand, sling-flung,
God-guided to strike just below the crown,
By a future king, still innocent and young.
The task yet undone, David severed its head
With the Philistine’s sword, though it took loud
Chopping to get through much gristle and bone.
He couldn’t lift what, so heavily dead,
He meant to parade for the cheering crowd,
So he brandished instead the conquering stone.
Such battles now will never disappear.
The weak and poor are every monster’s prey,
Yet live complacently and without fear.
Goliaths behead Davids every day.