She says it’s way too early,
this time of year for warblers,
kinglets and tanagers too.

Ornithology challenged
(I know little about little birds):
What then is this time good for?
I shouted out from the crowd.

Despite the many faces,
drawn about her in the park,
she is prompt and direct with response:

It’s that season for fine young ladies,
to sight those special and rare
ducks like the Cinnamon Teal,
birds like the Black-Tailed Godwit.

With that she puffed her plumage,
I turned to exhibit my wingbar,
snapped at a mayfly there in the air,
and lifted off in glorious flight.

© Carlos Chagall, 2013