I subscribe to Aristotle’s definition of Mimesis: putting the artistic presentation of an idea into the minds of audience members who then relate this idea to existing experience, and end up feeling the way the artist intends them to feel. I do however believe that this is best accomplished through close replication of life-like situations…but don’t for a moment deny the force of your emotional connection with wife and woodpecker. All I might suggest is that for you to have experienced this reaction the author must have touched a ‘real’ memory of yours…a pleasant musky odor perhaps?

btw shortly after our get together I googled woodpecker and wife and short story and sex and all sorts of other permutations to come up with the author and title…please furnish me with these details and I will happily read and report back.