@NoBoDe - that is not a compliment - but I did it for myself only, and Ken asked me . . . .
- but I have no intention of publishing, anyway - the rest are just a lot of nonsense poems including a translation of Erich Kästner's rather jaundiced look at human progress
'Progress of Humanity'
'Einst haben die Kerle auf Bäumen gehockt
behaart und mit böser Visage
dann hat man sie aus dem Urwald gelockt
Die Welt asphaltiert und aufgestockt
bis zur 30igsten EtageProgress of Humanity – Erich Kaestner
Translated by me (Taurisk)
Long long ago they squatted in trees
Hirsute and not fair of face
Then left the forest and monkeyed no more
Asphalted the world and buildings were stacked
Sky-high to the umpteenth floor.
Here they now sit, escaped from the fleas
In air-conditioned digs
They work at computers and telephones
And there still prevails the self-same tone
As long ago in the sticks.
They watch TV, they listen far
And space is almost conquered
They clean their teeth
They’re up-to-date
They’re keeping the world in order
The world is a progressive place
With lots of running water
They’re writing and reading via internet
They’re hunting and breeding microbes
They’re fixing nature with all that is best
Their rockets are shot high up in the sky
And there for weeks they endure
And what’s left over from the stuff they ingest
Is turned into useful manure
They’re splitting the atom, they’re curing incest
And are doing amazing research
to discover with joy and applause from their peers
that Caesar walked on flat feet -
on the earth.
So now with their brains and much noise they’ve achieved
‘progress for humanity’
But leaving aside for one moment that feat
To look at them in the pure light of day
They’re still the same ole chimps
- who -Long ago - lived in the trees.
Taurisk