Comments on: The Temple Site

By: JB

JB — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:54:49 +0000

I agree completely with David. The meter is a bit jumbled and the bare literary merits are far from unsurpassed, but the meaning of the poem is beautiful, especially in that setting. Considering Lant’s capacity as a poet (his “A Godly People Bless the Earth” seems to me significantly more beautiful as poetry than “The Temple Site”), I can all the better see Lant composing this piece while struggling against a difficult environment and seeing the hope and potentiality beyond it. Thanks for sharing, Ardis!

By: David Y.

David Y. — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:59:10 +0000

Yes, and that’s what makes it more meaningful to me. It’s an act of devotion, really. Kind of like how an earnest, if flawed, musical performance in Sacrament Meeting can be moving.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:55:38 +0000

Yeah, I chose some of these not because they are great works of art (!) but because of their very Mormon character. Can’t you just see the man visiting this spot and deciding that it ought to be worth recording in a memorable way, and struggling to come up with a poem while he’s fighting the cold November wind whipping his paper around?

By: David Y.

David Y. — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:23:55 +0000

Reading the last line (“on visiting the spot, Nov. 24, 1905″) made all the difference in my impression of this piece. The poem’s meter seems a bit clumsily organized, and the rhymes somewhat pendantic, and so knowing the context makes it a more meaningful read, in my opinion.

Thanks!