The woman in Cullen’s “Sacrament” gives herself to the speaker as if she were offering communion. Her body is bread, her soul is wine, and she prays that this offering will make him whole in both day and night. The speaker describes her giving as graceful and complete — she holds nothing back of what passion has taught her. But the final lines shift into something more complicated. Her love is a tidal wave, enormous and generous, yet it casts bread onto stagnant water. That image suggests she poured her whole self into a relationship or person that may not have been able to move or respond in kind. The speaker sounds reverent, even awed, but also quietly sad, aware that such a gift came at a real cost and perhaps went unreciprocated. The mood is intimate and solemn, like a private ritual remembered with tenderness and regret.
Sacrament — Summary
She gave her body for my meat, Her soul to be my wine, And prayed that I be made complete In sunlight and starshine.
With such abandoned grace she gave Of all that passion taught her, She never knew her tidal wave Cast bread on stagnant water.