David

 You are hundred

And I have lived five times your age;

I was carved

But you created.

 

They said the marble could not be carved

Yet my master brought me to life;

You chronicled life in the deepest of oceans

And dense jungles never ventured before.

 

The Giant, I am a symbol of liberty

Trapped, an exhibit to flashes and eyes;

You are free, you travel at will

And capture the beauty of the wild.

 

My muscles taut, my stance erect

An epitome of anatomical perfection, they say;

The unfurling wings, the trembling earth beneath lithe paws

Nature through your lens is more balanced, I say.

 

My lips are pursed, sacred silence to Goliath’s screams

Yet they read my thoughts, I know not what or why;

A mother’s fear, a hungry cry, a triumphant roar, a joyful screech

You voice their tales, with humility and grace.

 

My eyes are alert, focused, assessing

Yet I cannot spot assailants with hammers in plain sight;

You offer a view of the best of beasts

A prey in flight, a predator in fight.

 

I felled Goliath

An inspiring tale of victory of the underdog;

You fall and frolic with Gorillas

Save and preserve the underdogs, you said.

 

You are hundred

And I have seen five times your age;

My marble mind bends to none

You mould minds to care a little more.

 

Man created me, a masterpiece

But man destroys;

You, mortal, are the David I wish I could be

For your savages are better than mine.

Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

(Image courtesy: By Jörg Bittner Unna jbittner@web.de - Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=109721344)

Sir David Attenborough

(Image courtesy: https://www.wwf.org.uk/about/ambassador/sir-david-attenborough)

MS