Look Down Poem by Felix Bongjoh

(i)

In the swelling
nebula
of a cartwheeled
earth,

every bud
somersaulting
over
its floating gold
and steel

on spinning
candelabra
and splashed edges
of dawn horizons,
air drifts.

Stars have
dripped
off melted sky,
the sun having
tumbled,

crashing
into an ocean
expanding
beyond
elastic edges.

Look down
at earth
and tilt your eyes
beyond
your creeping
toes,

as you stand
on stars
of blue tulips,
cheerleaders
raising
and whisking

ribbons of dahlia
to touch
ceilings of air,
sit, recline

and stretch out
on your
growing head,
as earth
creeps off breaking
toe nails,

and you-re left
hanging
in a drifting
hollow,

stretching
beyond hilly
hanging horizons.

(ii)

Look down,
for sky
pushes
and tosses
into air

any face raising
eyes
to a blinding
sky,

daylight having
crashed
into the mouth
of a deep
sinking volcano

stretching deeper
and deeper
down into a red
creeping rose,
the reddest flame
of your
inner bowl

growing thorns
to poke
at you, prod at you
with hooked
eagle beaks.

(iii)

Look down
at your toes
in gripping hands,

a wormy snake
coiled on every
drifting phalange.

Let the soaring
eagle look
straight at sun
out of bravado,

as no fire
and flames will
burn sight
into cream ashes.

But you must
point your eyes
on toes,

harboring
moonstone
flowers
creeping from
tumbled moon.

Look down
at earth,
creeping ants carrying
specks of sun,

and moons
dropped off
by the moonstone
flower,

a burnt-out day
shedding shades
of shadows.

(iv)

Look down
at rolling suns

and moons
at your feet
crawling across lawns.

Look down
at the janitor
in his gold
rolling eyes.

Look up
at the floor cleaner
carrying chrome
in his eyeballs,
stars that steer you

off eyes
looking down on
chrome eyes,

for you miss all stars
on drifting earth,

leaving a dark screen
of a sky only
blinding you, eagle
eyes ripped
to burn in flamy embers.