I listened to the sounds coming from outside,
the cardinal’s call, the tap of a woodpecker.
I hoped the bird’s tap was not on the house
where previous birds have left their moniker.
The bird’s a domicile wrecker.

So I climbed out of bed and made my way
down the hall and to the front door.
The cedar siding was completely intact
and the bird lie dead on the entryway floor.
The neighbor’s cat did one dead bird score.

And so back to bed, I made my way
from the front door and up the stairs
one last look out the window I glanced
“Oh, no!” Pecking on the cedar siding was a pecker pair.
So I shouted, “Here, kitty, kitty!”
It’s survival of the fittest out there.”