Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Gary Beck- Three Poems


Searching For…
 
I sought advancement
in the material world
yearning the treasures
money could buy,
a quest for fulfillment
of childhood frustrations,
pleasures denied, desires thwarted.
Trapped in fears and envy,
I overcame obstacles,
put limitations behind me
on the road to acquisition
of wealth, possessions,
the outward display
of belonging, membership,
in a crass society
whose measure was money,
allowing full participation
in the rights and privileges
of a democracy
designed for the few,
worked for by many,
position determined
by how much we have.
When I awakened
from a deceptive dream
and did  not want
the burden of things
to shape my life,
I sought to remove desire
for more worthy goals,
but still find it difficult
to resist temptation.
 
 
 
Voices of Reason
 
Attempts by peacemakers
often ignored
in the stress and strain
of daily contact,
strive to maintain
levels of calm
despite confrontation
inevitably leading
to violent conflict,
whether one on one,
nation versus nation,
bloodshed never resolving
new or old antagonisms,
the remaining hope
survivors not consumed by hate,
willing to listen to reason.
 
 
 
I Want
 
Too many of us
consumed by desire
lust for what we don't have,
craving eroding the spirit,
the well of kindness,
compassion, humanity
sustaining our kinship,
so quickly forgotten
in the lust for acquisition.
 
 
 
Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director, and as an art dealer when he couldn’t make a living in theater. He has 11 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 (Winter Goose Publishing). Perceptions, Displays, Fault Lines and Tremors will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. Conditioned Response will be published by Nazar Look. His novels include: Extreme Change (Cogwheel Press) Acts of Defiance (Artema Press). Flawed Connections has been accepted for publication (Black Rose Writing). His short story collection, A Glimpse of Youth (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.
 
 

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