By James Goldberg
1.
And Jerusalem still dances
in your dreams—rises
like a wave, then leans,
careens into captivity.
You wake to hunger
and thin Liahona-longing
for a home.
2.
Wind-driven, wave-tossed
plunged dark into the deep
this heart is a Jaredite barge
as this body sails toward sleep.
3.
No matter how beautiful the waters
you were washed beneath
oh the burdens that wait:
the lash, the load. Even
the earth groans for this,
while the tongue lies sapped, stilled.
4.
Offer this silence up as prayer:
O God touch my stony heart
this once let it be light.
James Goldberg writes history, poetry, fiction, and plays. He is an eight-time finalist and four-time winner of annual awards from the Association for Mormon Letters. His works include The Five Books of Jesus, Let Me Drown with Moses, The Bollywood Lovers’ Club, and Tales of the Chelm First Ward.