Gary Beck |
Appraisal
I have a rendezvous with death,
tryst, encounter, assignation
that I am not eager to attend,
but will comply when I must,
however reluctant, preferring
to linger as long as I can
in this exhilarating life
as long as my mind is clear.
Otherwise I’m another drain
on finite resources
consuming, but not contributing,
of minimal redeeming value
better dispensed with
that others may subsist.
***
Seduction
So many ways
to tempt us,
take from us
what often shouldn’t be given.
Money, power, sex,
so many ways
to lead us into concession
until we are conditioned
to yield more than we should,
whether to abusive leaders,
anonymous corporations,
corrosive relationships.
Those of us
too weak to resist
seductive offerings
are sometimes captives
of unrequited desire.
***
Park Pleasures
Music echoes through Bryant Park.
People hum and sway to the tunes.
Others enjoy themselves,
tourists and locals
on a warm, summer day.
But nearby, on unheard streets,
the rejected homeless
submerge into the pavements.
***
Dangerous Time
I used to fear
that incrementally
democracy was ebbing away.
Now it’s rushing away
and the shades of oligarchy
are crushing the people
with terrible burdens
we may not recover from,
a perilous crisis
without leaders to save us.
***
The March of History
We are unprepared
for serious disaster
bio, chemical, nuclear attack.
The loss of power,
death and destruction
sufficient to end
the brief reign
of the American Empire
of economic conquest,
ephemeral endurance.
When we can’t recover
from a severe hurricane
some of us conclude
there’s no way to survive
national collapse.
***
Bio:
Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director and worked as an art dealer when he couldn't earn a living in the theater. He has also been a tennis pro, a ditch digger and a salvage diver. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines and his published books include 32 poetry collections, 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 1 collection of essays and 5 books of plays. Published poetry books include: Dawn in Cities, Assault on Nature, Songs of a Clerk, Civilized Ways, Displays, Perceptions, Fault Lines, Tremors, Perturbations, Rude Awakenings, The Remission of Order, Contusions, Desperate Seeker and Learning Curve (Winter Goose Publishing). Earth Links, Too Harsh For Pastels, Severance, Redemption Value, Fractional Disorder, Disruptions, Ignition Point, Resonance and Turbulence (Cyberwit Publishing. Forthcoming: Double Envelopment). Motifs (Adelaide Books). His novels include Extreme Change (Winter Goose Publishing). State of Rage, Wavelength, Protective Agency, Obsess and Flawed Connections (Cyberwit Publishing. Forthcoming: Still Obsessed). His short story collections include: A Glimpse of Youth (Sweatshoppe Publications). Now I Accuse and other stories (Winter Goose Publishing). Dogs Don’t Send Flowers and other stories (Wordcatcher Publishing). Collected Essays of Gary Beck (Cyberwit Publishing). The Big Match and other one act plays (Wordcatcher Publishing). Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume 1 and Plays of Aristophanes translated, then directed by Gary Beck, Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume II and Four Plays by Moliere translated then directed by Gary Beck (Cyberwit Publishing. Forthcoming: Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume III). Gary lives in New York City.
Gary Beck's poems depict real life experiences coming straight from soul!
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