A Bottle-Fed Dawn Poem by Felix Bongjoh

(i)

Spun air whines
with wind
diving in and out,

birds clutched
to reeds
and clustering in branch-
gripping nests.

Mewling and whispering
splashed waters
feed whimpering babies

on beach trees
swallowing
and spitting out gales.

(ii)

Time whimpers
on the nipples
of feeding bottles,

sniveling crowds
of children
crawling in on a lap.

A singing mother
rocks more babies
in a hammock
of swinging leaves.

Above the low screams
of racing winds

pushing off
a creeping breeze,
indigo clouds

break through smoky sheets
above pink
and dark-blue shades

sinking into a bleached
melting blotch.

Sprinkled off like cream
on babies' widening
mouths flipping out pink tongues.

(iii)

Time screeches, winds
scraping the curved backs
of palmate leaves.

Winds rattle through
branches, twittering

in the tiny beaks
of ribbons
and streamers of leaves.

Green tapered foliage
sailing in mid-air
stick out baby tongues
in a screaming wind,

babies' mouths yelling out
for more sips
of creamy sprinkled air,

as two curved
giant feeding bottles of dolphins

jump from the sea's
swollen belly carrying
sipping and wheezing babies.