A scribe's duty

I do a scribe's duty and write what I know

I do a scribe's duty and write what I know

Fulfill my masters wishes of creating stories

I make no mistakes in capturing the moment

These pages are my worlds, my visions, my glories

History well recorded, acts as a guide

Fortunes and victories are remembered forever

Even a leaders mistakes and losses

May be used to piece bits of wisdom together

We passed the moment, and may not look back

Another day, another page well written

The memory may fade, the ink does not

This foul tasting apple has already been bitten

By a candle, moonlight or buzzing light

My work must go one, without interruption

Only the final darkness can stop me

I am not silenced by might nor by election

Some men are free, some women empowered

Some cities choose, while others abide

Most nations fall, today or tomorrow

No one can will these events aside

Children are taught to respect my writing

Teachers are paid to guard the books

To keep them pure, honest and true

Save them from soldiers, bankers and crooks

The scribe of the ages has seen it all

Witnessed the folly again and again

He has the burden of repeating the chore

Of committing the past to eternal domain

I plead you take seriously the counting

And take into life all the numbers that change

To make good use of the years gone by

Not a few hundred but the entire range

Shahbaz Ali-Khan

(dedicated to historians)