I remember
Mom and Dad planting trees in our yard
And the red-headed woodpecker that built his nest in them.
Waking up early every day
To hear the tap-tap-tapping he made
Drilling in a tree for his breakfast.
Playing hopscotch in the driveway
Hanging laundry out to dry
Watering the flowerbeds
To the staccato rhythm of the woodpecker
That became the soundtrack to my childhood.
I remember how Mom dismissed my complaints
About her STUPID BIRD being so noisy
And how quickly she told me to mind my manners,
Thank God for his wonderful gifts, and go do my chores like a good little girl.
I remember
When the air pollution got so bad
I couldn’t go outside to play all summer
Mom fretted about the STUPID BIRD non-stop
Each and every day
Standing under that pine tree
Scattering sugar to draw the ants out
To save the woodpecker the extra work.
I remember
The tree and Dad both fading away the same year
And Mom frantically calling me
To look for the STUPID BIRD
When a storm finally blew that old tree down
How she cried for days afterward
That her last tie to Dad was gone.
I remember
When Mom passed away
And I realized I hadn’t heard a woodpecker in the city in years
Just the rush and drone of traffic on the highway
Racing past the commercial district our neighborhood had become.
I remember
Taking my kids’ kids to the zoo
Watching the bred-in-captivity red- headed woodpecker
Tap-tap-tapping away
In a rhythm that sounded just like
“Stupid girl, stupid girl,
Bet you miss me now.”