Pieces of Moonbeams

CII: never he had seen how the moon paints

never he had seen how the moon paints

i.

i step my feeble feet—
sluggish walks. no voice & open mouths.
closed eyes & blind tongues:
on the layers of the waves—
as i imagine myself walking
on the ocean's sleek skin.

may the bridge never fall:
& stand with our feet for all.
let water splash & splash.
let winds blow with dash & flash.
for i am the soul with no husk—
"a bit boring, isn't it?"
said I to myself.

the lights are now dim:
the twinkling twilight
now dances with the night.
the ocean's now thin:
silky sheets crushing through.
i lean myself for its whispers:
that shall i never cross,
or my soul shall be lost.

deep & shallow:
filled with hollows
& shades of blues
dyed the skies' hues.

the orange sun was out there again:
on the east side of the north.
there was no hills, no mountaintops,
no river, no lakes, no waterfalls,
no earthly landscapes here:
just the early streams
of primordial burst.
burst before the first fall;
the world without earthlings at all.

it was then a scenery which
only the cosmos have had seen:
the obsolete scenery for which
our grandparents didn't even know before death—
for time consumes layers of life on its depth.
even our ancestors. even the holy bodies
peeling the truth of the past.

ii.

i don't mind having
short long-winded stories with the sun.
but, it's enough for me that
its presence burns flames of my skin.

& it shone through the rivers,
to the lakes, to the waterfalls,
to the hills, to the mountaintops,
to the earthly landscapes—
& the tides beamed a light on me.
& i shove out the dazzling light.

molecules to molecules:
atoms to atoms.
waves to waves: particles to particles.
i cover my face as it glistens.
the rays of light still met my eyes.
swoosh! swoosh!
spurt the drop of rain.

& it plucked a vein on my flesh.
"put it back, blood shall stop!" said I.
but, it never listened to me.

i scooped a droplet on my palm.
"put it back! free its drop!" said the sea.
but, never i understood a word.

i blew out the air
clogging through its nose.
i heard it said: "thank you."
thanks for letting
the ocean breathe again.

iii.

"listen! listen!" said a wave.
here lies a home for us:
a tiny sandcastle--with fish
abode that whistles & whistles.
with the shadows of the moon
that spring threads for the waves to move.

i can't come in to the castle.
for my home is in the layers of the waves.

& with waves painted
by the moon:
each wave is a facsimile of each other. a true copy—
with each being born of an exact disguise:
then the scenery of the waves
will be the same thing over & over—
crusading on the beach with no finish line.

big bad waves! small slim waves!
ride on the surge:
take a boat & sail with me.

& in ten. nine. eight:
forfeit all the weight:
be weightless in the pressure.

& in seven. six. five:
sink in below & dive:
for love--its depth cannot be measured.

& in four. three. two.
paint the sea blue.
i'll swim the depths for you.

iii.

& let's go back to the steps again.
let's push a step backwards to sink.

zero, one, and two:
paint the sky blue—
fly on white clouds with you.

three, four, five:
for what should i dive?
let's go back to number five.

six, seven, eight:
your breathe shall be spared.
ocean, take my breath instead.

& nine & ten:
puff the breeze, then
drift inks of my pen
to the breeze—at least.

it goes back to the horizon,
and goes back to the shore again.
again & again. i said i'll meet you there.

and said:
"i'll watch the streams
of tides sparkle with you.
even if i am drowning & sinking,
i'll give in the air in my lungs for you."

iv.

lungs exhausted to breathe.
hands quivering to grip
my heart dripping its beat.
obliged here the soul to wake up.
wake up! wake up! wake up!
pass in the air for me to breathe.
blaze in the light for me to live.

i blow out the thin air again.
i can now breathe.
inhale. exhale. inhale. exhale.
i breath in & out—muted by the screams;
i couldn't shout.
shrouded silent screams sound aloud.

i can now breathe again; a second time.
inhale. exhale. inhale. exhale.
slow and fast. my first and last.

v.

in the ocean paints
the moon with waves.
my home, don't walk away
on the layers of the waves.

burn here with me.
freeze here with me.
drown here with me.
float here with me.
sit with me at bay.
lie down your skin on the little sands.
stay here with me at the seasides,
'til the high & low tides.

remain here for my heart to flow too:
the moon was painting waves for you.

July 17, 2023
von frederick

Note: This poem is divided into five parts.