A Story in Celebration of the Intifada

Marilyn Buck

1988

David, son of Israel slew Goliath
he smiled that one so small
could defeat one so large

he took Goliath's house
walked in his shoes
and ate at his table

David, son of Israel became Goliath
greedy, grasping, merciless
he thumbed his nose at
the ageless people
of the olive groves and desert

remembering only that he had been small
he forgot

the daughters and sons of Palestine
do not forget
that a stone is not just a stone
lying in the rubble of their homes
it becomes a missile
ululating resistance
raising a storm of liberation.

December 1988

This poem appeared in Hauling Up The Morning
The Red Sea Press, 1990