No trumpet called No banners moved No blade was drawn The chamber waited And on the altar A light Began To rise Not gold, not stone, not treasure for a king Not proof for those who came to conquer The vessel burned without a flame And every shadow turned away Galahad stood before the light And all The wrong Was gone Perceval bowed Bors fell in silence No voiced-in name What filled the room The wounded years, the broken kingdoms The pride of men all seemed smaller In that glow The holy grail Not taken Not won The holy grail Not claimed by anyone It gives no crown It bears no sword It answers to no throne The hand that reaches without hunger May behold What cannot be Known Then Galahad lifted his eyes No fear No triumph No demand Only wonder Only peace Only the weight Of understanding And the light Passed through him Like dawn Across the sea What is glory Beside grace? What is conquest Beside truth? What is kingship Beside mercy? What is strength Without the good? The grail arose The chamber brightened The walls became Like morning glass And Galahad No longer seemed Bound To the world That brought him there The holy grail The quest Was never possession The holy grail The road was transformation One night Would leave the world One night Would carry memory One night Would return to tell What mortal Eyes Have seen The vessel shone The light remained And somewhere Beyond the chambers A door Opened
