An unlikely king

Chosen

I’ve been chosen

can you believe it?

not the strongest,

not the sharpest

and certainly not

the oldest

But I’m the one who has been chosen

seems like a dream

but maybe not a pleasant one

more like the stuff of nightmares

And it’s down to those soft, melting, brown eyes

they land me in it every time

People just look – even prophets

and decide – there’s a boy with soul

But this time, those eyes might be my downfall

How am I going to fulfil God’s calling

for me to be king?

There’s a perfectly good king already

Maybe a tyrant

Maybe a bit unhinged

But that’s the way of kings

And this crazy prophet thinks I’ll be next?

I don’t think so.

I’m off to lie low

and hope that, in time

they’ll forget all about

the prophet’s visit today

with his talk of God’s will

I’ll head back to my sheep

and, hopefully,

they’ll carry on without me.

This is a reflection, published in Spill the Beans, on the anointing of David by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16:1-13)