NAMED FLAMINGO
He stands
on a jointed stick;
his neck, the snake of snow
black-mouthed,
coiled on the almond-
shaped body
thatched with plumes.
First the yellow
rays break (Cézanne said)
leaving blue
for outline, as of his foot,
a flawless bone,
fixed in the unhorned water.
Hard bird, he prefers
with his eye
the oiled silk leaves,
the dome, and clouds like fur