Love in the time of coronavirus - Quarantine day #29: Our Emmaus

“And the two recounted what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking
of the bread.” —Luke 24:35

You hand me the loaf, I tear off the heel,
dip it in the blue dish of olive oil—
this ritual performed at every meal
gladdens my heart. This is the real
presence of joy these days of pandemic.
The world’s gone insane. People are frantic.
They talk of the news, the news, the news.                 
Terrible deaths. Bleak crucifixions.
Lives once well ordered now lack direction.
Better to sit here. Just me and you.
To set on our table olives and wine,
to savor the taste of sweet grapes and brine,
to raise our glasses and toast the poor dead,
to mend the world and to break our bread.