Jianqing Zheng: Flamenco in Four Parts

after Valerie Vescovi’s The Flamenco Dancer


Hands clapping, fingers snapping, heels clicking—the dancer in a red trumpet dress swirls in a flow of vitality, stomping the wooden floor to percuss the bargoers’ hearts.

elegant quicksteps
of red flamingos
in the wetland
enliven dusk
in magic hues

With a flick of her wrist, she snaps open a black fan to snag the wandering eyes; her bent knee and stretched leg deliver grace and sass to charm imagination—an appeal of flaming red.

fiery twilight
reflected
in the shallows
red ripples
of flamingo ballet

~~~

Copyright 2026 Jianqing Zheng

Jianqing Zheng (who also publishes as John Zheng) is the author of  Dreaminations and The Dog Years of Reeducation, A Way of Looking, and five poetry chapbooks and e-chapbooks; editor of seven scholarly books, including Conversations with Dana Gioia and Sonia Sanchez’s Poetic Spirit through Haiku; and coeditor of four scholarly books, including Dana Gioia: Poet & Critic. He is professor of English at Mississippi Valley State University.