"I went out after him," said David.
A lion and a bear, and now Goliath!
He wasn't sent to kill Goliath first.
It might have bothered him, the youngest one,
Lying beside the sheep, if anybody
Had put it up to him.
But when he came to Saul he said:
"I went out after him and slew him.
Thy servant slew the lion and the bear."
A lion wasn't easy for a boy.
A bear, too, was a challenge, but the shepherds
Were used to challenges.
He did not say: "It's just a lamb;
They'll never miss it; lots of them are left.
Besides, I might get hurt." And if he thought it,
He stamped out such a thought and went to work.
Now he was taking food—an errand boy.
The loaves were heavy, and the corn and cheese.
The youngest he, still fetching for the rest.
But now he had a weapon he had proved,
No longer words alone, and secondhand.
"I went out after him."
He, David, went out,
Leaving the fire, the family, the talk,
The warm, protective purr of other voices;
He went alone.
