Yesterday is History, — Summary

She starts by labeling yesterday “History,” then shifts to “Poetry” and “Philosophy,” as if trying different angles to grasp the distance. That distance feels huge—“so far away”—and each attempt just underlines how slippery the past is. She treats it as something that morphs the moment we try to define it. Soon, yesterday becomes “mystery,” and the poem wonders where that mystery might be found today. Instead of an answer, we get a quiet observation: while we’re busy “shrewdly” thinking and speculating, both yesterday and today “flutter both away.” The image is light, fleeting, a little sad—like something fragile escaping our hands. The speaker’s tone is thoughtful and wistful, sensing that the more we try to pin time down with clever words, the faster it slips past. The mood is calm but tinged with loss, the kind you feel when you realize the present moment is already becoming yesterday. It’s a gentle nudge to notice how time moves, regardless of our efforts to hold it still.