O these Goliaths!
swaggering and bragging
as they issue from their fastness.
The insolence of them!
The hullabaloo created!
With all that brassy dazzle on the air—
of breastplate, helmet, and drawn sword brandished
to defy high heaven—cowing even the hardiest
of hosts: even kings and priests
above the valley of Elah.
The boast booms out. The blade glitters.
How slight (whatever his name)
the shepherd!
How fragile the sling! And tiny the pebble!
As again and again, in this same world—
at unmarked hours
and on secret fields
never to be told about or shown—
a timeless contest is reenacted.
