Danger Zone
City people
grow lax and casual
provided with amenities
to get from place to place
and frequently don’t notice
hazards of the streets,
cracks, potholes, construction,
red light jumpers,
many tuned out
listening to IPODS,
many texting,
all at imminent risk
from unexpected dangers.
Perceptions
In 1980
Bryant Park was a cesspool
of illegal drugs,
junkies, dealers, muggers,
prostitutes, criminals,
concealed from the public
behind tall bushes
surrounding the park.
Only the unwary entered.
But if you time traveled
to 2018
you’d find a neat pocket jewel
that pleases all users
and you’d never know
the woes besetting the people,
the erosion of democracy,
the declining middle class,
the disappearance of jobs,
a growing poverty population,
on a warm, spring day
in Bryant Park.
Adaption
The temperature is almost 100F.
Some people are sniveling,
complain bitterly about the heat.
But it’s not the Sahara
and for one day, city folk
could stop griping.
Oases are everywhere.
Water is plentiful
and the odds are probable
that few will die
from one hot day.
Activism
All the protests we believe in
meant to improve the system
rarely change things for the better,
just allow us a means of complaint
as we passionately object
to a succession of abuses
by the lords of profit,
who do not care
about the rest of us.
Continuation
The last week of summer,
hot, hazy, still full of life.
The birds are singing.
They may or may not know
winter is coming
and many will not see spring.
Soon the land will go to sleep
with no guarantee
it will wake up again,
just the thoughtless assumption
that life continues
despite the ravages of man.
Gary Beck
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 31 poetry collections, 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 1 collection of essays and 4 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 and Resonance (Cyberwit Publishing Forthcoming: Turbulence). Forthcoming: ‘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 and). 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 and Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume II (Cyberwit Publishing. Forthcoming: Four Plays by Moliere translated then directed by Gary Beck and Collected Plays of Gary Beck Volume III).
