tethered to a cross
vineyard grapes surrendering
to their destiny
Has the poet employed an allusion, or is the cross in the poem being used as a symbol? Wine is used in the eucharist to commemorate the “Last Supper” held on the night before Jesus died on the cross. The word “surrendering” likewise calls to mind his last words: “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
In spite of that, we are not left with an image of the dying Jesus so much as that of the ripe grapes, tethered to their cross-shaped support trellises, awaiting the day of the harvest. And so the poet is not saying “Jesus is like the grapes” (which is the point of the eucharist), but rather that “the grapes are like Jesus,” which establishes a more ecological vector of meaning.
Granted, nearly all ancient religious rituals originated in folk festivals (usually agricultural festivals). And so, the poem can be read both ways. That being said, haiku poetry tends to favor ecology over theology nine times out of ten. And so, my feeling is that the symbolic use of the season word prevails in this case.
—Clark Strand