The First Supper
There was bread
and there was wine,
but there was no betrayal
at the first supper.
The body
that would be torn,
pierced, blood and water
gushing forth
belonged to the mother
before the son.
Birth and death
dance closer than most men know.
Did Mary feel forsaken too?
Precious Joseph
a midwife bearing witness
to the mess and the mystery
L’Origine du monde
in a midnight menagerie
Woman behold your son.
A human child
in a feeding trough
fresh and still unbroken
by the world.
Divine nourishment
in place of grain
This is my body un/broken for you
eat in remembrance of me
What beast first tasted
holy wine that soaked
this stable earth?
a starving cat, a desperate rat,
ants returning to their mound?
Did flesh fly high on raven’s wings
to prophets in the wild?
More likely,
placenta filled bellies
of shepherd’s hungry hounds.
No sheep will scatter tonight.
There was bread
and there was wine
but there was no denial
after the first supper
The rooster crowed three times:
behold
behold
behold
Woman behold your son.
Tanja Stark
Christmas 2023