Celebrating Triumph Poem by Paul du Plessis

Wheat harvested and threshed;
Ears milled and sifted;
Dough kneaded with fists
That might overcome an enemy
But held together by gluten
As the perfect loaf rises
Until the aroma of freshly baked bread
Fills the whole house
Only to be sliced, quartered and broken
With just the crumbs left over;
Our vulnerability strengthened,
By hands committed to work together.

Grapes plucked and trodden,
Pulverised and mashed;
Seeds and skins trampled
Like an adder under foot
Then blended in the barrels of years
The bouquet arising in maturation
Until a bottle is filled with perfection
Then decanted slowly in aliquots
To be shared in sips from a silver chalice
So that barely a dropp remains;
While feet prepare for the journey
In company with the victor in that crucial battle.

May 2011

Reflections on the Eucharist while at House of Bethany, Southsea