The chaos of urban life
is no longer balanced
by the quieter rural life.
People have left the land
flocked to the cities
now swollen with crowds
that lack sufficient room
to tolerate proximity.
The crush of congested streets
breaks down the restraint
that lets us accept
the jostling of others.
Some respond angrily
to rude intrusion
into personal space,
often resulting
in unexpected assault.
Gary Beck
Negative Ions
An intelligent man
grows more confused
as the complexities of life
overwhelm his reason
and he shuts out reality,
too tormented by bad news
to continue to intake
unpleasant information,
delivered electronically.
Gary Beck
Disillusionment
The complaints we make
about injustice,
abuse of power,
economic oppression
are useless protests
unless linked to action
that accomplishes change,
hopefully for the better.
Knowing the human condition
probably the same, or worse.
Our inherent need
for a good life
is curtailed by circumstance
natural or man made,
expectation for tomorrow
diminished, destroyed
and all our efforts
can never restore
extinguished hope.
Gary Beck
Encounter
There is a pleasure
discovering a bright mind,
learning unexpectedly
someone has good ideas,
a sense of values,
awareness of life’s iniquities,
intelligent fear for the future
as opportunity declines,
inequality flounders,
poverty spreads like a cancer.
Yet a few remain hopeful
not surrendering to despair
determined to improve tomorrows.
Gary Beck
Obscurity
All the ills, woes, horrors
that man inflicts on man
will be forgotten
in the passage of time.
The empires that fell before Rome
with disaster, death, destruction
only take up a few pages
in musty books,
a few electrons
on the internet.
The suffering throughout the ages
as mankind struggled to survive,
endure, build great cities,
is easily wiped away,
a few obscure records,
atavistic memories,
todays exertions,
future fears
the only burden.
Gary Beck
Gary Beck has
spent most of his adult life as a theater director. He has 14 published chapbooks. His poetry collections include:
Days of Destruction (Skive Press),
Expectations (Rogue Scholars Press).
Dawn in Cities,
Assault on Nature, Songs of a Clerk,
Civilized Ways,
Displays, Perceptions,
Fault Lines,
Tremors, Perturbations,
Rude Awakenings and
The Remission of Order (Winter Goose Publishing).
Conditioned Response (Nazar Look).
Virtual Living (Thurston Howl Publications).
Blossoms of Decay, Expectations and
Blunt Force (Wordcatcher Publishing). His novels include:
Flawed Connections (Black Rose Writing),
Call to Valor and
Crumbling Ramparts (Gnome on Pigs Productions).
Sudden Conflicts (Lillicat Publishers).
Acts of Defiance, Flare Up and
Pirate Spring will be published by Wordcatcher Publishing. 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).
The Republic of Dreams and other essays will be published by Gnome on Pigs Productions.
Feast or Famine & other plays
will be published by Wordcatcher Publishing. 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. He lives in
New York City.
