Lon Young

LON YOUNG {[email protected]} and his family lived among the leprosy-affected in southern India in 2014–15, working to improve conditions for impoverished and stigmatized communities. He is the co-founder of Awakening Valley Sangha, a mindfulness community based in Utah County. Lon’s essays, poetry, and short fiction explore the tensions of wholeness and belonging within Mormonism.

Articles

That’s Where the Light Enters

I’m writing this from our roof, where I can see over the tops of mango trees, wet from last night’s rain. Mynas swoop from palm to palm, and enough sun filters through the misty dawn…

Jonah in the Belly

So this is how you’ll preserve
me, Lord? in a slosh of brine?
Go ahead, though I’ve borne no fruit, torn
loose from my roots and gone my own way.

Upon the Face of the Water

The chokecherry where we camped one June
hung low over the water, sheltering
brown shade beneath its branches
so clear the water revealed crooks in our legs