Collateral Damage

Treat me with tenderness
For I was once a temple
Meant to house a multitude
Of graces;
Go quickly to retrieve
That which remains of me;
It was not intended that
Such containers become refuse.

Gather the remnants with respect;
Refresh them with the waters
Of salvation.

Remember my companions;
There were many,
Like the stones that form
A vast cathedral;
Its components half-filled cups
Of every size and shape,
Waiting to be completed—
Until their contents spill
Over the Earth
To baptize those that follow.