Lenten Poem
THE FEAST
Jesus’ death presents itself as food
life-giving bread, inebriating wine;
more than essential nourishment - a festive mood
for downcast people come to dine.
He, the joyful host of his demise
Brings those He loves to His most lively feast
He, the everlasting food, His tender Self, the prize,
His life, eternal aid; His help unceased.
To be like Christ, no easy feat,
to be the new creation He would have;
But at His table, we become that which we eat,
the Christ; for every sin the sting, for every wound the salve.
Happy folk renewed by wine and bread!
Alive with Him, victorious from the dead!
Poems from the Eighth Decade
Copyright © Harold Macdonald 2004
used with permission