for Janet Danielson

I will tell you how it was the world
changed, she said – and darkness
wrapped us round.

I heard her clearly, though I barely
heard the words. It was nearly – yes –
as if she were singing.

Our job, she was saying, is not
to change the world – nor even
to keep it from changing.

No, she was saying (the story
was over already): our only
job is being changed.