Contrition Competition

When David, King of Israel, in one act of lust,
Abandoned to his certain death an honest soldier --
Uriah the Hittite, one of the mighty men --
Having heard Nathan's allegorical rebuke,
He fasted, wept, and spent his nights upon the ground,
Refused to rise, and begged the Lord to cleanse his sin.

"Create in me a pure heart, O God," he cried,
"Renew a steadfast spirit within me." So did
That monarch for the death of one good man repent.
But now, after the deaths of some thousands of troops
Abandoned at the front-lines of a lesser cause,
The leader of these latter days says "Bring 'em on!"

June 2005