A Flamboyance Returns, Then Returns

A sonnetal


The hurricane flings flamingos off course
to Tampa beaches where they land, coarse 

pillars of Himalayan salt to score 
from the surf. On Ohio golf courses

where they triangle the drink, above par.
Into Texas from tailwinds as if course

corrected. These birds from Yucatán shores,
tagged and surveilled as a matter of course—

how undetected they cross borders,
taking currents like an obstacle course

at altitudes over the bald eagles’ turf,
those who would predate them for a main course.

Feather-hunters hope they remain to shed galore.
But they’ll catch turbulence home in due course.

JEN KARETNICK

A 2024 National Poetry Series finalist, Jen Karetnick is the author of twelve collections of poetry, including Inheritance with a High Error Rate (January 2024), the winner of the 2022 Cider Press Review Book Award. Forthcoming books include What Forges Us Steel: The Judge Judy Poems (Alternating Current Press, 2025) and Domiciliary (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2026). See jkaretnick.com.