And for ages, this has gone on….

 Time had the power

to wantonly bribe History’s losers,

and steal its gems,

snatch away a king’s crown, and,

as in a game,

change a line here or there,

strike out a place, blot out a name.

With a laugh,

History shrugged it off,

large-hearted, it forgave

raconteurs their clever plots.

 But strangely, Today looks downcast –

it pries open History’s binding,

removes a few pages,

and puts in others in their behalf.

And History? It steals away

from its changing faces,

to stand beneath that tree

and blow smoke rings

that fly away, detached.