III: Fleissig

Anyone who works hard can
do the same, said Bach when
questioned on his genius and I
can't help but hear beneath
all that piston contrapuntal
work the distinctive breathing
of industrious sex. Over twenty
children meant he had to
work more than his hands on
a regular basis, bringing to
a climax an entire era of music
in his multitudinous offspring.
If his sounds could swell
in praise of God and human beings,
he was all one body which could
as easily give a working praise
to wife and children. It's all
joy, you know, from
beginning to end.