READING HISTORY.(Poem)

 
   We know what they will suffer and will do. 
   We have the final outcomes neatly penned. 
   And we can watch it all proceeding to 
   The very thing that happened at the end. 
 
   For us the deep significances cling 
   To names and dates and places in advance. 
   We know what each tomorrow had to bring 
   Out of the deep-laid plan or fluke of chance. 
 
   We fathom where the secret passage lies 
   Through centuries of anarchy and dark. 
   And long before the arrow ever flies 
   We know that it will hurtle to its mark. 
 
   We can predict in detail all the rest 
   That follows on from someone being born,  ...