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# Communion
- URL: https://dianaludwick.com/communion/
- Published: 2026-06-07T13:51:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:07:56.000Z
- Description: “Communion,” an annual ritual of celebrating the beauty of diversity, in uniqueness, in community, as depicted in found blooms exchanged among others. Written Sunday, June 07, poem 158 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. "Communion," by Diana Ludwick (c) 2026
- Author: Diana Ludwick
- Tags: 2026 Poetry Challenge, Poems, Abundance, Beautiful, Blessing, Blossoms, Bouquet, Broccoli, Communion, Community, Flower, Garage, Gardens, Gathering, Giving, Glory, Grace, Holy, June, Perfume, Taking, Vase, #Migrated-1792872215677, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 20:03

Once a year  
we bring a single bloom  
from our yards, or our markets  
or the roadside   
and we place this offering   
on the altar, in one of   
many waiting vases.  
  
And this day each year  
we take turns   
queuing up   
to walk past the altar  
and absorb the perfume air   
of a field of flowers,   
each one distinct,   
each one beautiful,   
each one needed.  
  
And as we gaze down  
upon this abundance  
this gathering of glory  
of colors  
of shapes and textures   
heights and dimensions  
we can select   
from the masses  
the one stalk that calls to us.  
Will it be a jaunty sun flower?  
Or smily Gerbera daisy?  
Perhaps a black magic rose  
or a dahlia   
or some acid green pompoms  
or an English rose  
or impatiens   
or maybe a calla lily.   
  
We each have the moment  
to feel what moves us,   
and then respond by  
raising our selection  
from the vase.  
  
And so we do, and I do.  
I walk back to my seat.  
  
I evaluate my communion:   
a bright white, lime-veined  
oakleaf hydrangea  
cut fresh from   
someone else's garden  
now in my hand,   
heavy with morning dew   
and promise.  
  
And in this moment,  
the act of communion  
of taking, of giving, of believing  
is more concrete, more perfect  
than any prior ritual.   
  
Out of many, one.  
Community  
Communion  
Common threads  
Common flora  
made majestic  
made powerful  
made holy  
by the act of   
gathering  
giving,   
and gracing   
the lives of another.  
  
I make a silent blessing  
I carry my strand of blossoms   
and tight green broccoli-like buds   
to the car  
through my garage  
to the dining table  
and place it in a vase  
full of someone else's bouquet.  
  
And I have given,   
and taken,   
and given again,  
And this is as it should be.  
  
And this is how   
we find belonging  
and connection,   
in the small ways   
that lead to big change.