A Mormon literary backcountry where words and place come together.

 

 

 

 

Guest Post: Waters of Mormon, by Mark Bennion

by Patricia | 10.21.09

Listen to Mark Bennion read “Waters of Mormon”

Amid the tingle of forest and shadows,
you ford through the water
to the sway of its purl and girth,
a surge of billow where air arrives
in speckles of light. The only
distance is the reach of your hand
and the life after petition and promise.
Trees rustle in incandescence
as the crowd’s whisper fades.
You have come to the place
where heat and cold start to matter.
This point you approach in dusk,
trust, flashes of maroon and stream.
What you’ve known you may come
to remember when the night returns
its grip. Ease into the ripple
now, feel the numbing of flesh,
let the wave bury you
until the sound of dawn.

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For more by Mark Bennion, go here and here.

4 Responses to Guest Post: Waters of Mormon, by Mark Bennion

  1. Patricia

    Love the end of this.

    Am I detecting a touch of Clinton Larson here? I’m catching–maybe just brush-bys–of similarities.

  2. Mark

    Patricia,

    Unfortunately, I’m not as familiar with Larson’s work as I should be. I’m afraid the similarity is coincidental.

    Take care,

    Mark

  3. Patricia

    Cool.

    You might want to look into his writing, just a bit. He focused much of his poetry on Mormon subjects. Looks like you’re part of that tradition, know it or not.

  4. Mark

    I’ll take a look at his work. Thanks, Patricia.

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