Feathers of Fur

By Felix Bongjoh

Most of the poems in the book touch on feathers and fur, which symbolically represents the strength of the lion or leopard as opposed to the less aggressive force of birds, especially the chicken. But under natural circumstances, an eagle (a bird) may overcome a lion. Thus the force paradigm is further corroborating the fact that man’s fortitude rather than brute force is what matters in life. Other poems largely deal with nature, a good number reflecting man’s ordinary and extraordinary experiences, while others project man’s interaction with nature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jun 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781490795805

Felix Bongjoh

Felix Bongjoh, currently living in Boston, Massachusetts, is an International Human Capital Development Consultant, who previously worked for an international organization for some 30 years. In addition to the present twenty-fifth book, Saddle On Thunder, Bongjoh has previously published 24 books of poetry, as follows: (i) Chorus on a Bridge; (ii) Broken Gloss of Bliss; (iii) Nightfall at Dawn; (iv) When Dusk Hoots; (v) Weeds of Jewelry; (vi) Season of Flowers; (vii) The Ineluctable Spin; (viii) Gloom’s Sprout of Love; (ix) Spectrum of Zephyrs; (x) Whistles in the Wind; (xi) The Sun Still Glitters; (xii) Cliff of Sirens; (xiii) Quiet Shadows Scream; (xiv) Angle of Angels; (xv) Sculpted Out of Sky; (xvi) Feathers of Fur; (xvii) Through Sundry Waves; (xviii) Beyond Dying Ripples; (xix) Doors to Eris; (xx) Outskirts of Inner Bowl; (xxi) Ebbing Out, Bouncing Back; (xxii) Tailored To The Stars; (xxiii) A Storm Wave’s Reach; and (xxiv) Isles Of Light.

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Copyright 2019 Felix Bongjoh.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-9579-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-9580-5 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Trafford rev. 06/26/2019

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This book is

dedicated to Agnes Josiane Bongjoh, my beloved departed daughter

Contents

FEATHERS OF FUR

FUR OF FEATHERED HOPES

FUR OF FEATHERS

OLD MAN OF HARMLESS FUR

THE NARROW PASSAGE

A LEAF IN THE WIND

PLAYTIME OVER

THUNDER OF A COCK’S CROW

OSTRICH OF A LION

UNDECIDED

WERE HE YOUR SON

SLEEP WITHOUT LULLABY

CURTAINS AND CANOPIES

A HIGH-PRICED EVENING

NO WAY TO TURN BACK

A SNAIL’S STRATEGY

AN OMELET IN A WHITE CRYSTAL DISH

A TORN-SKY MORNING

THE CRUMBLING COMPOUND

FLAME ON AN OVAL PLATE

A SMOKER’S LIGHTER

FLAMES OF A HIDE-AND-SEEK

GIRAFFE EATS LANDING PLANE

AMOEBIC RAINBOW OF A HUG

HEIGHT

THE LONG-NARROWED ROAD

FRECKLED HOPE OF FLOATING SKIES

MONARCH BUTTERFLY ON

A SWAMP MILKWEED

THE TRAIN

THE DRIVER’S SEAT

UNINVITED GUESTS

A CRAWLING WALK

FLAT-BELLIED GUY

MARIGOLD

BARBET

SUNBIRD

DITCHES

GOLDEN PHEASANT

CANNIBAL

THE TRAVELER’S SONG

THE LOUDEST BELL

HOME EVERYWHERE

THE HIDDEN TUNNEL

PASSING ON THE BATON

A NIGHT OF NIGHTMARES

WOODPECKER

KING COREOPSIS

GOLD-GLAZED KISS OF A WIND

AGAINST AN ENEMY OF CLOUDS

LEAVING UNNOTICED

Feathers of fur

(i)

From a stratus of sneaky

Passing elephants

To the nimbus of two cats

Identified through

Their paws in the wet mud,

A reliable ink pad,

Whose stamp of paw marks

Can be interpreted

Like bright stars

In a clear moon-lit sky.

(ii)

And as the clouds won’t

Settle behind distant horizons

Beyond the jungle’s zenith,

The ‘ve been living through

Other thick clouds

Of uncertainty and fear.

The teenagers argue

Over the paws of a beast –

A leopard maybe,

But it is certainly a cat,

Not a lion, but some

Other ferocious feline, timing

One of the toddlers

Who must have once strayed,

(ii)

As the beast must have

Succeeded in shooting out

Sharp bullets

Of its keen sight, slithering

Through every corner

Of the jungle

To monitor

The child’s routine

Strolls and playful

Dashes

Into nearby bushes.

Sneaking in

From the clouds

Of a nearby,

Heavily bearded thicket

Or a cunning bush

In a tidy stillness

Feigning no mild snare,

Whereas tufts of brown grass

Blend very well

With their unforgiving fur.

(iii)

As the clouds thicken

With more growls

Heard every night, an adolescent

Downplays the ghost

Of a beast,

Swearing the growls

At night are raindrops

Singing growling, and even

Groaning, songs,

During heavy and continued

Downpours drumming

Large flat leaves

Like hard leather hides

On hollow wood –

A cowardly and tricky way

Of getting out

Of an imminent feline attack,

A tunnel of self-deceit

In which a beast

Would corner and mangle a child

Into pieces.

(iv)

And with the tunnel caution,

The jungle crusaders

See the skies

Clearing, clean – with no patch

Of cloud to open

The door to the paws

And claws

Of gambling with a huge fire

Set off every night

To ward off beasts,

The group leader affirming

That all in the group are feathers

Who cannot face furs.

Fur of feathered hopes

(i)

As rivers of blood

Flow by

The only tall tree with branches,

Whose hands are far away,

Courage

Erects the mountain

With open lion mouths

You climb,

Not thinking of fur,

A brown tuft of grass

Sticking out like

A lion’s tail and mane,

While the lion still roams

A circumference

Within his elastic pride,

Sadly, sadly

Widening with the distance

Of his indefatigable

Run for a fleeing prey.