Lawn Flamingo

All day on one wobbly pink leg he stands
He knows he cannot move from the soft comfort of the lawn, his home
But he does not understand why
Awkward in his gracefulness, he’d love to tell the other birds how beautiful he really is
But he cannot speak

Seasons change and his body becomes weighed down with snow
In the summer, screaming children run through the sprinklers and knock him over
He is not put upright for days
By the time he regains his footing, one leg firmly clamped to his side,
He has seen the world in a way he never has before
There is more to life than standing in one place
More to life than watching the world to change around him
Now every scorching day is filled with longing to pull his foot from the ground and fly

Years pass and he is no longer so vibrantly pink
The sun has faded him to a dull brown
He has seen others of his kind pop up in the neighbor’s yard
But when he tried to call to them
They just stared back with plastic eyes

Someday he will make his escape
And when he does, he will be like the birds he has seen peck around his thin legs
Someday
He will fly