What Steed for the King?
Donald P. Goodman III
What steed for the strong, for the soldier who fights,
for the wager of war, for the wearer of crown,
who is walking the way of the warpath, whose feet
tread the palms of the people, their praises peeling?
What mount for the mighty? The masses gather
to praise his power, the people proclaim
their love; but how loose is their loyalty! lame
are their screams to the sky of their search for the king,
their hosannahs and songs to the son of David!
How soon they will scoff and will sneer and will mock
when the king will carry his cross, so cruel,
under Roman rods, past jeering Jews,
down the self-same street to the skull's place,
where he'll wage his war and win over sin!
So what horse for the hero? O, how will he ride
to his triumph, his trophy, the tree that's his throne?
Like the poorest of peasants, the powerful prince
will enter his empire on an ass like a churl.
Truly.