Toaster 1

Written by I.j.j.T.  

Welcome Ye all, her to "The Works"
BeastBand now too'll call an end,
To any illy worm that irks:
- Disease'n'Vice - Sorrow'n'Age
Even death would end
    (Ay! So they say!)
Turning the next page:

O Holy Mage! Blessing'n'Worship,  
Dr. Timothy Leary_a -: Voice of Space-Age:  
For ever and a while:

 
S M I² L E,  - S M I² L E, -  S M I² L E

Yes! -: Space Migration - Intelligence Increase - Life Extension.  
No!  -: Space Migration - Intelligence Increase - Life Extension.  
Yea! -: Space Migration - Intelligence Increase - Life Extension.

L... - l... - l... life-extension? Le..., Le..., Le... Leary:  
Was is aber das???_b - Surely the arch-old question, per se c  
Peek now with BeastBand - je, je:  
    "Die Tierkapelle!"_d
Into this earthen and utter oldest saga  
In mankind & -kin; & mind & hint of 'hind_e:  

Gilgamesh;_a - he: the first of lettered men,  
Would go to Hades_b and come back again.

O! care for the dead!
Thou civic _c and gallant instinct!
Ever the on-living head, would dare
A phewic_d and valiant_e tread
Toward - `twart - that
Imperceptible precinct, that
Done unneglectable rigor,
And try to undo with
All respectable vigour
The verdict of death,
That, alas!, had lead,
The hero-footed survivor's tread
To bring life's breath at his hand
And redeem, from that far from living land,
The dear'n'dead to Life and Light
And love and Liberty hereafter.  

Thus Gilgamesh, for his greatest friend, The Beast,_a  
Thus too, in a way, Zadig_b, for his raped'n'rippen love;  
    Thus Orpheus!_c - Who could have made all else
Sound dumb and hollow if he would -
But he could not, for He was of good blood,
And ever you should see him play,
To all the world in song-wrought wisdom gay;  

He would sing for the Mother of Love_d  
To bring him a lass;_e With a jazz'n'a-swing  
        Like a dove - hear it ring:

[OP]

     a Dr. Timothy Leary: reference to the famous doctor, especially to his later books, such as "Neuropolitique" and "Info-Psychology" introducing his S M I² L E formula, and Drexler's ideas of nano-technology to the the masses.

     b Was is aber das???: German: 'But what is then that???' or rather: 'But what then is that???'

     c per se: Latin: in itself, used when hinting hitwise to the core of something or someone.

     d" Die Tierkapelle!": German. One among several ways of rendering BeastBand into German.

     e hind: here hinting at "behind" understood as the past.

     a Gilgamesh: reference to the Sumerian hero of the Gilgamesh epic, found on cuneiform tablets dating back to the bronze-age.

     b Hades: land of the dead, in Greek mythology,  "The Works" unfold more about this place where Hades himself, the God of death and decay, sits on the throne.

     c civic: civil, social, official system. Civics: means the science of society, the meaning here that care for the death makes a first must in the development of social institution, as shown in the Gilgamesh epic.

     d phewic: "an impatient" or "disgusted" something, a rather artificial and poetic construction on the word "phew" denoting "impatience," "disgust" and the like.

     e valiant: hero-like, with valour.

     a The Beast: In the Gilgamesh epic, the hero represents the civilized man from the town, whereas his friend, Enkidu, represents the beast-like man from the wild-land.

     b Zadig: the person of Voltaire's little Babylonian, funny and  philosophical fairy-tale of the same name.

     c Orpheus: this greatest of Greek bards and the sung hero of "The Works", a son of Apollo, god of light, song, and poetry. His story will unfold with the texts following.

     d the Mother of Love: as will be clear from the following poem, here as Aphrodite.

     e lass: a Scot word for a young maiden, a sweet-heart.

[OP]