The New Fade 6

how did people remember
back then
when even the written word
did not exist?

how did they trust
the word of mouth?

well, back then
it might have been
more reliable,
I expect

now, all truth fades
to within recent memory,
which distorts quicker,
finds narratives
that were never there,
fades in and fades out,

like a heartbeat,
lonely and strong

the Old Fade counted time
in millennia;
the New Fade counts it
in milliseconds