Rituals

I have sipped the blood of wine
The water of tears
Gone the silver chalice in the rustling of the surplice.

I have felt the heart's glow.
The gaze of God through coloured glass,
Rising lightly at the nunc dimittis while dead barons slumber.

I have wondered at what relics held:
Delusion, renewal, confusion, betrayal,
And heard the empty echo on the clashing stones.

I have drained the empty cup.
Another's silent body in the night
Who smiling, with "I love you", spun away into darker wastes.

You are my chalice, you my wine
Your tears my joy and pain
Redemption in your lips, the yearning of your skin, trembling
Hair at the nape of your neck, the scent
Of inner holiness
God silent beneath your clouded eye.

My stumbling resurrection, you
My heart the pealing bell
Echoing from the nave to sing an angel's love.

A pure and fluttering wind
Soars across a cloudless sky
Love clasped as fast as the Grail in Gawain's gloved finger.