black ski mask
stretched over
my wan face
a black-and-white warbler
weesa weesa weesa weesa
weesa weesa weesa
Rounding the corner
on Sugartown Road
a family of robins
tenses up.
Mother with stroller
dog straining on leash
two juvenile robins way ahead
trying out their wings on scooters
“Who is this man?
Who steps in our street?”
Asks her oldest hopping robin
cheer-up cheerily
cheer-up cheerily
Valley Forge Road
head pecking at her phone
young female flicker searches for
some connection to ants
wicka-wicka-wicka- Kleer!
Steady masked stare
of the black-and-white warbler
makes the young jogger
swivel left
swerve and lurch left
and cross Devon Road,
a phoebe always flying
skimming for insects
on her workout
phoe-bé phoe-bè
phoe-bé phoe-bè
Do- not- cross
yellow tape flutters
barring Bo Connor Park.
In the Forbidden Zone
two tennis-playing starlings
lob their serves
an instructional series
of discordant musical
squeaky rasping
chackerchackerchacker
chackerchackerchacker
Cherry blossoms beckon
on Morris Ave
a burly landscaper
makes unnecessary talk
to a mourning dove.
She puts out
her deep-throated
coo-ah coo coo coo
coo-ah coo coo coo
Club La Maison
Little Darby Creek.
At the new concrete bridge
purposeful power -walking
black-bibbed house sparrows
flit in and out of
yellow forsythias.
Shrill monotonous
twig-carrying liquid chatter.
Cheep chirrup
Cheep chirrup
Cheep chirrup
Cheep chirrup
Down and up
the little steps to home
the black-and-white warbler
eager to unmask.
Halt. Step backwards.
Allow the advancing
rotund resident blue jay
to check his mail
with raucous greeting
queedle-queedle
queedle-queedle
and now to chase away
this black-hooded intruder,
he mimics a red-shouldered hawk
keeyuur keeyuur
keeyuur keeyuur
Who’s to say who he is?
It’s hard to unmask
these April days
flying fast
black and
white
pfsss