catapult magazine

The gathering at the altar

by Jill Reid

The young boy rises
to his calling
in the middle

of their silver
circle, old backs
bent to hold

his firm, smooth hands
in the knobs and twists of their own

quaking grips,
his quiet moment there
the rich return

of many years
lean and broken
with their wondering

who might finally take
the cup of love
they have always filled,

carry all the deep
deposits of their
hope and faith inside

his own growing
story, brimming over
with what they could

offer of themselves,
reflect of Christ-
all their deposits

pressed together
and running over
into his fresh, bright future.