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Genesis 19:15-28
Saul
and David
It was a villainous spirit, snub-nosed,
foul
Of breath, thick-taloned and malevolent
That squatted within him wheresoever he
went
And
possessed the soul of Saul
There was no peace on pillow or on throne.
In dreams the toothless, dwarfed, and squinny-eyed
Started a joyful rumor that he had died
Unfriended
and alone
The doctors were confounded. In his distress,
he
Put aside arrogant ways and condescended
To seek among the flocks where they were
tended
By
the youngest son of Jesse,
A shepherd boy, but goodly to look upon,
Unnoticed but God-favored, sturdy of limb
As Michelangelo later imagined him,
Comely
even in his frown.
Shall a mere shepherd provide the cure
of kings?
Heaven itself delights in ironies such
As this, in which a boy’s fingers would
touch
Pythagorean
strings
And by a modal artistry assemble
The very Sons of Morning, the ranked and
choired
Heavens in sweet laudation of the Lord,
And
make Saul cease to tremble.
- Anthony Hecht
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