Poems by Sir Alfred C. Lyall :: :: University of Virginia Library

For Solomon—it suits him well
To slay a man who dared rebel;
But thou! it seems a cruel thing,
I was the Captain of thy host,
O valiant friend and warrior King
I served thee best, I loved thee most—
That thou wast careful to bequeath
A legacy of bloody death,
In tardy vengeance for the stain
Of Abner and Amasa slain.
Thyself—did dead Uriah's wife

Remind thee of my sinful life?

Well! times are changed, by God his will,
And Kings alone are free to kill;
Yet when he spake the words of doom
That echoed round his opening tomb,
Remembering all the by-gone feud
And fierce revenge of soldiers rude,
Might David with some touch of ruth
Recall our stormy days of youth?
Of all the hardy outlaw train
That kept the hill and swept the plain,
His boldest men-at-arms were three,
His sister's sons. And ever we
(For that he was a comrade true
And better swordsman never drew
His blade against a champion foe)
Followed and saw his fortunes grow,
Until the tribes their monarch hailed,
So mightily his name prevailed.