The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail

The cup was just another cup,
And owned by just an inn.
Its purpose was to hold the liquids
Poured out of the skin.

It would be simple earthenware,
With not a jewel in sight –
A vessel meant to do a job,
Like any other night.

It wasn’t the cup of a carpenter,
For it never was his to own –
But merely rented for the meal
As a unremarked-on loan.

It would be washed and set at table,
With a dozen more –
And used by other lips tomorrow –
That’s what cups are for…

Relics are just relics
Of the talismans of old –
Why the search for dreaming clays,
And not the wines they hold ?

The Gospels often mention who is hosting Jesus for a meal, so the fact that they are silent on who provided the Upper Room for the Last Supper makes me think it could have been at an inn.  And although this was a Passover meal, it seems unlikely the establishment would have kept a separate set of crockery just for one day.  The vessels were probably made from the local terra rossa or marl clay, producing earthenware, with minimal decoration similar to that shown (albeit at the other end of the Empire).

And on a tangent, but isn’t it curious how obsessed we are with the grail that held the original wine, but couldn’t care less about the platter that held the original bread ?