…has the day of miracles ceased?
A time of war between
two sides, both fallen;
a time when a man
might go alone
and despair less for it,
bid mockery farewell
and behold
a book which sends
a loving hand
through promised winds
and slaps
Mormon words
upon us—
exceedingly Mormon—
from lone Moroni
preserving exceedingly,
or Nephi reborn
exceedingly restoring
Or have angels ceased…?
Poet’s Notes:
The italicized phrases in the above poem are taken from Moroni 7:35-36 in the Book of Mormon.
Featured image credit: runt35, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0), cropped for this post
“Nephi reborn
exceedingly restoring”
Angling at Joseph Smith here?
Hi, John W. “Angling at Joseph Smith” is an interesting way to put it. You are on to something. I don’t regard the Book of Mormon as historical. So, it’s also a dig at the fact Nephi, not Moroni, is referred to as the angel who first visits Joseph about the Book of Mormon in the first edition of The Pearl of Great Price. That was a big deal for me when I learned about it. For me, the sudden appearance of Nephi at the end of this poem also alludes to the literary similarities between the Books of Moroni and 1 & 2 Nephi, particularly their protagonist’s tone and poignant connection to his father. If memory serves, I picked up that idea reading Grant Hardy’s book “Understanding the Book of Mormon” several years ago.
Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me.
Freud