#bert brecht

Weltfragment

No one copied from [Brecht's] German homework because the teachers would immediately recognise it as his work.

We have sat, an easy generation In houses held to be indestructible (Thus we built those tall boxes on the island of Manhattan And those thin aerials that amuse the Atlantic swell). Of those cities will remain what passed through them, the wind! The house makes glad the eater: he clears it out. We know that we're only tenants, provisional ones And after us there will come: nothing worth talking about.

Give up your dream that they will make An exception in your case What your mothers told you Binds no one Keep your contracts in your pockets They will not be honored here Give up your hopes that you are all destined To become Chairman. Get on with your work. You will need to pull yourselves together If you are to be tolerated in the kitchen. You still have to learn the ABC. The ABC says: They will get you down. Do not think about what you have to say: You will not be asked. There are plenty of mouths for the meal What's needed here is mincemeat. (Not that anyone should be discouraged by that.)