The Speakers

"A equals X," says Mister One.

"A equals B," says Mister Two.

"A equals nothing under the sun

But A," says Mister Three. A few

Applaud; some wipe their eyes;

Some linger in the shade to see

One and Two in neat disguise

Decapitating Mister Three.

"This age is not entirely bad."

It's bad enough, God knows, but you

Should know Elizabethans had

Sweeneys and Mrs. Porters too.

The past goes down and disappears,

The present stumbles home to bed,

The future stretches out in years

That no one knows, and you'll be dead.