The Song of the Glass Bead Game

Some lyrics of mine Song The Song of the Glass Bead Game In narrow alleys, full of trinkets and dust, A merchant offers a feast for the eyes, the glass beads, what a colorful plunder, A promise of happiness that is no empty fallacy for us. We see the shine so clearly and are not sad. A silver thaler goes easily away, For red stones, smooth and fine. What fun, that makes sense, Yet the shine draws us deep into a spell. Tools faithful and craftsmanship, that we possess. That will soon be exchanged by us. The merchant grows eternally rich. One glass bead is so like another. This addiction that holds us captive, Suddenly means everything in the world to us. We have no ear for the warnings of the people. The glass bead game achieves so much today. Our strong hands grow soft, The strong color in our faces already looks quite pale. We trade our most valuable goods for an illusion. That is not good, that is already dangerous. On the cold morning, we then stand there without a roof, We have no warm clothes and are so weak. The beads that were once supposed to make us happy, Were the reason why we wanted all this so much. Hope flees from this horror, Many friends now turn away from us. We stand before the pile of shards. The whole thing will still bring us to the grave.