the headline, Avian flu,  
was the first bird that arrived
to mark our beginning  

I was in O'Hare,  
on my first cell, when she agreed
to have dinner

but stuck in JFK, four cells later,
when she asked me to get my things
from her loft

CNN was on the flat screen
the new plague on instant replay,
becoming a stale tale de jour

wings of silver birds
were slicing the night sky
my ticket to ride one
on the bar

I hoped
I wouldn't catch the newest bug
while still in the air