however dim the past may be

They do not see what I have done, 

Only what I have yet to do. 

The way they say If I were you

Implies I hardly have begun.

The future often is so clear

To anyone with eyes to see,

However dim the past may be

To anyone who wasn't here.

 

[Robert Francis {1901-1987} 'Past and Future', from Collected Poems 1936-1976]