The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

In search of ghosts

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

My ankle was already beginning to swell as I hobbled through the viridescent Sapsucker Forest of upstate New York. Just a moment ago, I thought I had spotted the rarest woodpecker in the world, and in doing so, turned sharply, my foot lodged in a hole, as I felt the tendons pull like rubber bands. As the pain rose from my ankle to my mind, I clenched my teeth as if an invisible…