flamingo was flashing around her hair that day
in the south of France, an afternoon in May
It was curly and pink and crazy looking too
We gave her compliments, what else could we do?
her perm was nutty, it made her look strange.
But we tried to pretend it had landed in the normal range.
Not easy to do, for she looked like a pink Einstein tamed.
Her beautician asked that she never be named.
On the first day of Christmas
my true love gifted me
an ostrich in a baobab tree.
On the second day of Christmas
my true love gifted me
two pink flamingos
and an ostrich in a baobab tree.
On the third day of Christmas
my true love gifted me
three guinea fowl,
two pink flamingos
and an ostrich in a baobab tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas
no more did I receive
it's a crime and a sin
there's yet room in the tree
but too many poachers at the inn.
Pink Flamingos
The only bird of the family Phoenicopteriformes
Is the “flame-coloured” flamingo, so named by the Spanish.
A wader on long legs with an arcuate filtering bill;
An eater of shrimp and algae that pigment feathers pink.
Posed confidently, balanced on one leg to conserve energy,
They display beauty and grace under an aura of innocence
In a relaxed atmosphere, appearing flirtatious,
Congregating in pats, and exhibiting social behaviours.
In spring, the birds participate in mating rituals
Of synchronized dance steps, marching in unison
With necks stretched, heads flagging, and wings flapping
To encourage nesting and pair bonding.
***
Notes:
Phoenicopterus: "Phoenicopterus" is the Latin name for flamingo. Flamingo comes from the Portuguese or Spanish meaning “flame-coloured.”
Pat (aka Flamboyance): A "pat (aka flamboyance)" is a group of flamingos.
May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life
that have, for us, thus far accrued…
and to begin each day with a word of thanks…
and thoughts of gratitude.
Today I’m thankful for flamingos and all the gifts they have to give
They are known as keystone wetland species
meaning their actions create an ecosystem
where many other species live…
If you find beauty and pleasure
in the flamingo’s elegant pinkish hue…
eat shrimp for breakfast, lunch and dinner
and you’ll be pretty…and just as pink too.
Greater Flamingos flock here*,
flames of white and pink bring cheer.
Tall and graceful, standing still,
playful pecking with their bill.
As a colony, they stand
with pink plumage, plush and grand.
Bending down curved snowy necks,
rummaging for food objects.
In the waters, feeding full
with their heads 'neath wetland's pull.
Insects, crabs and tiny fish,
shrimps and planktons as they wish.
Calling each other loudly,
honking deep, they court proudly.
Dancing, preening, paired for life,
Flamboyant flamingos rife.
*Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India.
22nd April 2023
For Emile Pinet's "Write A Jueju-Qijue" contest
on her lawn
four pink plastic flamingos
peak above a March snowbank
twisted forms caught in forlorn evasion
beak-body contortions like wrestlers resilient
in pretzel formation
unmanageable remnants of warmer days
denied the dignity of upright
plastic muck ups, a nostalgic weep of summer
wishing a solar Florida footing
their caught spirit of iced- playfulness
a pink flamboyance
teasing an icy surface
four plastic birds, frozen status
kitsch defensive
misplaced images like on-line love
wing swept longing
to flee this barren snowbank
nudging a tardy spring's erosion
with its courtship fringes
Poem posted April 13, 2023
flamingos flaunting
fuschia feathers fluttering ~
funky flamboyance
1 March 2023
Alliterku Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Charles Messina
Feverish flowery flippant freakish fantailed floozy who needed grounding
Flimflammed, flashed, flipped and flinched a fabulous frugal foundling
Fortuitous flexible frazzled French flamingos flash-mobbed a fernlike finch
On Friinge of this freakish failed flopped frenzy, I received a friendly pinch.
flamingo sunset
just the hour their world's afire
whispers of moonlight
orange and pink sky
hues reflected in water
nighttime is dreaming
elegance and grace
commanding all the twilight
remnants of beauty
flamingos run race
whirring scene of flashing pink
speeding to front yards
Written by Gail DeBole
January 20, 2020
A flock of Flamingos so pink
Had feathers that made people blink.
They group-danced with heads high
In a Flamenco style.
Ate shrimp, algae, and water to drink.
Author's Note: The type of food affects the color of the feathers.
Can anything be better
then a pair
of plastic pink Flamingos?
necks slinking gracefully
as a swan
glides upon calm waters.
Steel spindles
established firmly in soft soil:
No food
No care
No toil
so self -sufficient.
And should I mention
the beauty
they display
until incessant sun rays
begin to fade
pink bodies away
Can anything be worse
then a washed out pink Flamingo?
Flamingo Buzzards
Our buzzards and flamingos...mismatched as can be,
tho each have wings and feet, the buzzard is compact:
flamingos, tall and slim, scoop shrimp so charmingly,
while buzzards from the air, hunt prey to be attacked.
Somehow, this hobby recently appeared to merge
the grizzly buzzard, sleek flamingo...make one bird.
Whatever spurred them on to have this sudden urge?
Combining these two species seems to be absurd.
Used as lawn ornaments, most oft on Halloween,
in groups of two or three, they're noticed right away.
Our eyes become confused absorbing what is seen;
this combination is unique...not nature's way.
Now, how did this spread 'round as a creative feat,
to merge such varied species, post online the guides
on how to join together birds with wings and feet
with nothing else in common? Logic overrides!
Sandra M. Haight
Form: Iambic Hexameter (12 syllables, 6 feet per line)
These crazy crafts have become very popular.
Just type 'flamingo buzzards' on your Internet
search bar, and you will see them.
Bob the buzzard is colour blind i think
he doesnt think a flamingo should be pink,
say he has seen many and he knows
that flamingos are blue in Galapagos.
buzzards eyes gleen as he watches them feeding,
now buzzards are big but surely he is exceeding,
tbe size of his hunger no way can he swallow,
a flamingo even if his stomach is hollow
he flew onto its back they looked eye to eye
^get off^ said tbe flamingo, shoo go fly,
buzzard swaggered lost grip on floor did land,.
down came flamingos foot on his head he did stand.
Bob saw stars begged to be freed said he
would never fancy a blue or pink flamingo again for tea
penned 19 January 2019
contest sponsored by Anthony Slausin...Buzzards and flamingos
There was an old Buzzard name Bill
He was perched in tree on a hill
When he saw his friend Ringo
A tall pink Flamingo
Become the next messy road kill
NA
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