Sitting on my deck past 10 am
My bathrobe on. My list upon the counter
My to dos not being done
The chair on the deck wet with dew
Hastily covered with a cushion
To keep me dry
A red hatted woodpecker
Eats berries from the dogwood tree
Just above me near enough
To almost touch the magnificent bird
He flies away too soon
Huge, a wingspan as large as a hawk
A visitor welcome but uninvited
I wonder at the stillness
After he left the tree and me
Knowing he was sent to bring
An olive branch into my world
Despite the chaos that disturbs my mind
And stings my heart
I have these stolen moments
Before I walk inside and start my day
Just one more moment
To google and identify my guest
An Ivory Billed Woodpecker
Rare, once thought extinct
Seen in these stolen moments.
DJ Pasternak October 4, 2023
Antique Illustration, Copyright has expired on this artwork. From my own archives, digitally restored.
The ivory-billed woodpecker is a possibly-extinct woodpecker native to the bottomland hardwood forests.
DJ Pasternak, Author 
I’ve seen a woodpecker like that. So nice to live in the country.
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