Immortal One by Shaun R. Pankoski

Immortal One

The peacock at the Buddhist temple
is anything but humble.
He struts and screams of his magnificence
to anyone who will listen.
Flapping prayer flags
cannot compete with his glorious colors―
emerald, cerulean and glints of bronze,
opulent in the sun,
that follows him like a manservant,
casting him in his best light.
He weaves his way among the bamboo clumps,
the eucalyptus groves,
the pale, upturned faces of the Japanese iris.
While a holy breeze
nudges the brooms of the red-robed monks,
quietly sweeping the temple stairs.

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Shaun R. Pankoski (she/her) is a poet most recently from Volcano, Hawaii. A retired county worker and two time breast cancer survivor, she has lived on both coasts as well as the Midwest as an artist’s model, modern dancer, massage therapist and honorably discharged Air Force veteran. Her poems have appeared here and other lit mags, including Gargoyle, Gyroscope and MacQueen’s Quinterly.