Cup, Basin and Bowl

Cup, basin and bowl,
however tarnished and brightly,
however stealthy the manufacture,
however far the travail,
however fragile the lip,
or sheer the inbound slope — know this,

Take all I am as yours,
a meager thing and ancient,
poured from a brood of stars.
Would any thirst be quenched
but for your shape, as shapely
is the promise held? — know this.

Would any anger quelled
be not quelled in such perfection
as that which passes, unmolested
from age to age and hand to hand,
when neither art nor artifice may
improve on such gracious use as this?

Image: Tom Crew on Unsplash