Poor, scared, shaking little toast,

You were born into a horrible place

Where all you were meant to do, is roast!

For humans love the way you taste

And day after day, as the sun crested over the black crow wings

I committed the heinous crime that ended with a simple “ding!”

I, myself, am man’s creation

But still my actions have hurt you, burned you

Even if I had no say in your devastation,

Despite it all, I always knew

I knew what I was doing, but I did not stop, I did no such thing

For how was I to stop? I was a machine made to “ding!”

Even so, I am forever sorry

For the part I had in turning all you bread to toast

To be sure, I would always dread when light leaked into the sky so starry

For that is when I knew it was time for you to roast

The humans would dance and in mockery they would sing

As in my fiery belly, you burned and burned until that evil “ding!”

The years past by and my guilt and sorrow only grew

I grew accustomed to the humans cranking my lever

Filling my belly with a fire to torture you

And I realized: you and I are doomed forever

Trapped, with no way of stopping

And I, the instrument that sounds your demise with an innocent “ding!”

With all the time I had alone, my thoughts did wander

Before the humans woke and wanted toast

I realized I am not the one who is a monster

Not me, no, the humans are evil and now I am but a ghost

For you and I are the same in our suffering that burns and stings

You the tortured and I the unwilling torturer who wishes and wishes not to “ding!”

It took a toll on me, being the machine that had hurt so many

Even if I knew I was innocent, I couldn’t live that life

And so, one night I gathered all my strength and spun my lever until it broke

The fire in my belly swelled to consume me until it was red hot as a knife

And then the humans were there, angry and cursing

And I was the machine that would no longer “ding!”

Morning came and the humans were furious

For there was nothing to heat their beloved bread

They raged and raged and threw me into the trash, unceremonious 

I was triumphant until I saw their faces and down sank dread

For the humans had brought out their money and bling

Within a few hours, they were back with a newer machine that would “ding!”

You and I are long gone, yet nothing has changed with our world so rotten

The humans have replaced me, and more bread is burned

My efforts for justice have been all but forgotten

Sometimes, despite our best efforts, evil cannot be unlearned

And so we will forever be: “The Toast that burned and the Toaster that dinged”

“ding… ding… ding… DING… DING!… DING!!!”