Junco in the Oak

Nothing unhappens in the only
Possible world, the one that’s happened
So far. That’s not to say it’s always

Going to be the way it’s been so far.
Look how much so far’s always changing,
Especially if you don’t exclude

Those changes inimical to you
And your preferred set of narratives.
So far is never what so far was,

Although it’s only what so far’s been,
And so far there’s no way to know what
So far will look like eventually.

Don’t give up. Do your best to make it
The so far you wished it were but know
That it hasn’t been, so far. Prop planes

Drone over the high, snowy mesas.
Trucks pulling trailers with ATVs
Pass by. In between there’s bare blue sky

And an occasional solitaire
Perched on its personal juniper.
Somewhere near, the annual bird count

Is being counted by volunteers
As it has been, so far, every year
Since it started, less birds every year.