Kristin

And once there was a bird in a tree
and it sang such a beautiful song.
People voyaged for weeks, months, long hot dusty months
just to catch a glimpse of a feather or a beak or a talon
or to catch a note of its melody floating on the breeze
for it was said that those lucky enough to hear its song would be forever blessed.
Yet people wept when they visited this bird’s tree.
Why, they sobbed, why,
dear God what have we done.
And that bird just sang and danced and did as every other bird used to do.
When people left the bird and the bird’s tree they were changed forever.
Legend has it that once, once the world was covered in those birds, those trees, the people whisper
and those listening would shake their heads in response, wow.
Wow.
And once there came the day when the bird no longer sang nor danced nor did as all the other birds used to do.
And when that day came the people cried.
They cried why, why
as they hacked that final tree down.
Why, why?