Songs before the end of history, an introduction to collected poems

by Tarek Hassan
Saturday, June 21, 2003

SONGS BEFORE THE END OF HISTORY
An introduction to collected poems by Tarek Ali Hassan from Egypt

WHERE TO?


33 PICTURES OF LIFE

Last pictures taken during some last sightings in the previous century of Homo sapiens,

before the end of history and before the final disappearance of full stature humans and the reign of digital computers statistics, cross nationals and absolute 0/1 materialitis.

Songs before the end of history, when the Stradivarius violin and Mozart shall be experienced as nothing but a pathetic anachronism and their tones nothing but meaningless last squeaks drowned in the thumping of heavy metal electric guitars and drum machines, and the humming of hard disks, guided missiles and the non-stop assault of vested interest mass media having sold its soul to the military-industrial complex.

Long live the new species of human beings, drug dependent and diminished into drooling open mouthed imbecility, screaming jumping hysterical in quasi ecstasy to convince themslves how free and happy they are.

Depending on uncontrollable armies and unaccountable secret services to protect them, as they lose all control of their destiny to faster and more efficient electrons and electronic considerations pre-empting all human decision or human will born out of living imagination, love or vision.

Ecce homo, behold the man.

Behold the new human species brandish with the greatest pride, their progressive loss of freedom, chosen limitation, diminution and helpless dependence on mystified forces as diabolic circuits are operated for to ensure that everybody feels threatened by every body else as they crave acceptance, protection and safety from the harm of the all-powerful threats and the reigning digitised electronic forces and counterforces.

Behold man prisoner of his own protective electronic fire-walls which understand not and tolerate not deviation or any “other”, from within or from without.

The fatal catch is that all life is born “other”! so what next?


and not all the oceans in a creator's dream
not the perfumes of infinite worlds
not the fires of present hells and of hells unborn
not torrents of murdered blood
sacrificed on altars variously named
can clean this

THE LIVING STAIN

thus spoke Osiris the prophet and Camus and Ghandi
but how about the other “profit”; BSE(when the life-blind profit motive fed Nature’s natural herbivores on offal and blood and erupted a new disease encepahalo-materialitis BSE.

and there is no limit to the new deadly viruses that can erupt from these life and nature blind powers and greed
and how about virtual reality
life-blind free market, globalisation, electronitis and the end of history?
in the brave new world

and the new prophet says

if life can not be cleaned
it certainly can be replaced

and Eric Damman warns
your money or your life …. Choose!

And Kofi Enan says

If globalisation does not work for all
In the end it will work for no one


copyright Tarek Hassan, 16 Zenab Kamel Hassan Street, Dokki,12311, Cairo, EGYPT, E-mail tali@idsc.net.eg, tarekaliha@aol.com

Mozart and Osiris