Moon Light Melts Dark Specks Poem by Felix Bongjoh

Moon Light Melts Dark Specks
(i)

With the cream
and lace spray of moon,
our garden
pulls the sky into
our chests, draws arms

of thin star rays
to weave and place
black-and-white
garlands crafted

by crevices
sunk through leaves
and petals and splitting
specks of dry leaves.

Our moon-beamed
flowers scrape
off bumps and hills
and slopes and valleys

grown from sighs
and whistled pouts,
flares that built up

with stubs and feathers
of old receipts
and rags ofstrayed
written groans.

(ii)

And thundered barks
from firm-fisted
and red-eyed letters
to steer us into paying

old buzzing, biting
bills, leaving their sting
in our darted peeps
at each other's eyes.

Sky of rolling moon,
lift us to your chamber,
as we walk down
a row of beaming roses.

Carry us to glowing
corners of your froth
building into the pearl

and chiffon to wipe
off dark patches
and graphite specks of ink

from a fattened inkpot
feeding our nibs
to shut up crowing creditors
not diving back

into their deep tunnels
of smelly roosts,
as we still breathe in

more stretchedfeathers
of roosters knocking
at our doors.

(iii)

Under the moon,
feathers oforchid petals fly
in the wind into
white butterflies

bleaching a floating
path, stretching
into this clear silver

passage of Sirius's
light cutting a charcoal
night back into cream
afterfeathers hanging
on whispering trees.

A cabbage white
trails a small white
in the split ash
of a floating night

breaking into confetti
warping our temples
with the buzzing
bee of a late telephone call:

(iv)

The bank has bowed
to our staggered payments,
but we must rise

from our totter to pick
flowers with brushing
sweeping petals
that wipe off red stains

from our stretchy list
of monies still hanging
from the breezy tail

ofold bearded monies
that must be paid now
after a whistling eagle
pecking at.our window pane

has flapped its wings
amid bubbling flames
from the fire of a pink

and crimson early dawn
fast melting into the wax
of a new galloping day.