Aging Process

Forgetful moments

alarming indicators

of the relentless approach

of deterioration,

subtracting the senses

from continuation,

the short supply of data

rapidly diminishing

ability to function.

Welcome to Afghanistan

The circling vultures

seeking meals ready to eat

prefer violent cultures

for the caterers they meet.

American troops will provide

modern ammo and arms

to tribesmen who reside

so close to war’s meat farms.

There is a tradition

that tribes sting like vipers

and fight best in position

when they can be snipers.

Loyalties are stratified,

bought, sold, or traded away

after being ratified

by those who prevail that day.

The war for democracy

is an arrogant invention

that deludes our society

in a wasteful intervention.

Ode to the City

The esprit of a city

expands, contracts,

in dynamic flux,

or is trapped in stasis

as the industrious strive,

exploiters and lunatics thrive,

and do-gooders try to endure

in the peculiar mélange

of the metropolitan hive,

throbbing, pulsing, urban horde,

ambitious, ruthless, kindless,

the frothing ingredients

of juxtaposed existence

indivisible

from its components.

Departure

Lilacs are the pain

striking recollection

of unintended separation

from a lost loved one,

an unexpected rejection

flowering in shock,

smashing continuation

of rich interludes.

Premature Signs

After a blanketing blizzard

covered the cowering city

for a cleansing interlude,

warmer weather snuck in,

deluding gullible birds

who began to sing happily

that hungry winter was over.

Disruptions

Snow clogs the city streets,

wind-blown into high drifts

preventing passage.

Urban dwellers complain

spoiled by ample services,

modern conveniences,

so far removed from nature

that winter’s demonstration

is a personal insult,

unable to conceive

that circumstances conspire

to thwart arrivals

at desired destinations.

Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director. Published chapbooks include: ‘Remembrance’, Origami Condom Press; ‘The Conquest of Somalia’, Cervena Barva Press; ‘The Dance of Hate’, Calliope Nerve Media; ‘Material Questions’, Silkworms Ink; ‘Dispossessed’, Medulla Press and ‘Mutilated Girls’, Heavy Hands Ink. His poetry collection ‘Days of Destruction’ was published by Skive Press; ‘Expectations’, Rogue Scholars Press; ‘Dawn in Cities’, Winter Goose Publishing; ‘Assault on Nature’, Winter Goose Publishing. ‘Songs of a Clerk’ and ‘Civilized Ways’ will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. His novel ‘Extreme Change’ was published by Cogwheel Press; ‘Acts of Defiance’ was published by Artema Press. His collection of short stories, ‘A Glimpse of Youth’ was published by Sweatshoppe Publications. 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 currently lives in New York City.