Interchangeable
Well dressed
tourists
clog desirable
streets
digitally clicking
hi-tech cameras
at sights of
interest.
Except for minor
differences
it’s hard to
differentiate
between bearers of
the Euro
and those using the
dollar.
Gary Beck
Going Once…
Auction houses
thrive
on collective greed
as the seasonal sale
of Impressionist
paintings
attracts the
wealthy,
American, European,
Asian,
squandering their
riches
on recognized art,
a secure commodity
for avid investors,
to the approving
applause
of titillated
spectators
endorsing
extravagance
in the showrooms of
acquisition.
Gary Beck
Ode to the Forgotten
As your value sinks
to obscurity
to the wealthy, the
powerful,
who no longer
recognize
the necessary labor
to keep food
growing,
to maintain the
roads
so food can travel
and feed the hungry,
who tend the water
system
so the pipes don’t
go dry
and thirst can be
slaked.
And if the toilers
are neglected
while the rich
carouse on mega-yachts,
and are not
nourished
they fall into
despair,
no longer preserve
the skills
that bind the nation
together,
and the contract
between those who have
and those who
aspire, lapses,
and the workers are
despised
instead of
recognized
for meritorious
service
that allows all to
function,
rich and poor alike,
interdependent,
as long as there is
hope
for another
tomorrow.
And if the low envy
the privileged
this is the pattern
of history,
yet toilers should
not be scorned
by economic betters
merely because they
have less.
As the needs of the
people are neglected
then their efforts
will diminish,
skills will dwindle,
repairs will suffer
in the loss of
ability
to fix something,
talents will not be
nurtured,
so quality will
decline.
If the rich do not
awaken
to their dependence
on the populace at
large,
collapse is
inevitable
and there will be no
refuge
for rich and poor
alike.
The wealthy my last
a little longer,
but if they have
children,
heirs to prosperity
who they wish to
flourish,
they must change the
fortunes
of a faltering
people,
allow wealth to
trickle down
to nourish
continuity,
support parental
dreams
for cherished
offspring
fearful of the
future,
who do not think
they will prosper.
So awaken oligarchs,
the safest refuge
in a dangerous
future
is in your own land,
no security
offshore,
and sustain those
who sustain you,
before it is too
late.
Gary Beck
Imminent Despair
A man sits by the
window
of his decaying
house
watching the
children
at play on the
street
unaware of anything
but the game of tag,
as urgent feet
escape capture.
They do not know
the troubles of the
land,
the loss of jobs,
homes,
the end of hope for
many.
A man sits by the
window
of his decaying
house
about to be
foreclosed
by a religious bank
devoted to profit,
indifferent to the
woes of the people
as long as it makes
money,
so the wealthy can
flourish
as the social
network crumbles
under the burden of
demand
from legions of the
needy,
deprived of
resources
to endure
deprivation.
A man sits by the
window
of his decaying
house
watching the
children play
completely unaware
he has no voice
in a nation is
divided
between haves and
have-nots.
Gary Beck
Transportation
Flying has become
almost normal
for many,
but not as stress
free
as train or bus.
The biggest
tensions,
lateness, noise,
overcrowding,
are not as stressful
as the occasional
shock
when the Captain’s
voice
says: ‘fasten seat
belts’.
For a nervous moment
there is atavistic
fear
that we will fall
out of the sky,
quickly forgotten
when turbulence
subsides.
We resume listening
to our IPODs,
watching the
in-flight movie,
eating the courtesy
pretzels,
brief alarm
forgotten, suppressed
apprehension
replaced
by expectation of
arrival.
Gary Beck
