The Bird That Didn’t Sing

Maybe the changes most
Intriguing are changes

In contexts of sameness—
Of near sameness—changes

Not only cyclical,
But minimal, even

Confined in mid-cycle,
Like the landscape that looks

The same all afternoon,
Trivial cloud movements,

Maybe no clouds at all,
No dramatic shadows

Until the very end
Of the day, when it’s time

For you to leave knowing
You might never witness

Such subtle skirt-settling
Of feathers on branches

In this or any scene
Like this landscape again.