Do you think they knew,
those great men?
That we’d speak their names
with such reverence?
Great painters,
writers,
philosophers,
scientists,
musicians
and even
I’ll admit
occasionally
a politician…

The names we know
from long ago
who have helped
make the world
what it is…
Do you think they knew
in their own times
their names
would be
taught to our kids?

What history tells us
today might not
be what it seemed
back then.
Winners
write the tales
of battles won
and the losers hardly ever
have their stories told years on.

The generals,
the admirals
or what about the wars?
In a few hundred years
from today,
which of them
will be remembered at all?

I find it deeply disturbing to think
that we might be chasing history’s lies
but no matter how
I twist and turn
I will never see
the world through their eyes.