It is not only the lives
of certain ones
that illuminate as a comet
history's firmament,
but also the circumstances
surrounding the deaths of a few...
Or rather the tales, the
rumors and near- legends
regarding those deaths...
It is not so much a
stab at the accuracy
of chronicles, a rewrite
of history, but speculation-
the mind's fanciful imaginings-
all quite natural.
Or is it the human hope
for survival
and the survivor as hero
( however tragic)
-though still more
interesting and intriguing
than an untimely death?
Consider Anastasia-
beautiful young Romanov
said to have survived her
family's execution...
And then her supposed appearance
in a mental hospital in Germany
a young girl, traumatized, confused
but with an uncanny resemblance.
Even scars are identical, according
to a maid's testimony...
but it is all disproved
once and for all
through DNA evidence-
and the fascinating story detailed
on T.V.'s " Unsolved Mysteries."

And Petofi,
lesser known
though close to my own
heart...
He, the Hungarian poet- patriot
who, according to a recent
YouTube documentary
survived that fateful cornfield,
that year, 1848.
And who was wounded,
fell into Russian captivity
only to die later,
circumstances vague
stories conflicting.
The video consisted of both
skeptics and believers
giving their views...
And despite dedicated researchers
their claims and strong
convictions
I don't really know just
what to believe
still, I tend to stick with
history's " old version" - the one
I learned long ago
all the while keeping
a mind- very open.