Gary Beck- Three Poems

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, Displays (Winter Goose Publishing). Fault Lines, Perceptions, Tremors and Perturbations will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. Conditioned Response (Nazar Look). Resonance will be published by Dreaming Big Press. His novels include: Extreme Change (Cogwheel Press) Acts of Defiance (Artema Press). Flawed Connections (Black Rose Writing). His short story collection, A Glimpse of Youth (Sweatshoppe Publications). Now I Accuse and other stories will be published by Winter Goose 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 currently lives in New York City.

 

 

Similarity

 

Everyone

is starting to look

like everyone else,

homogeneity

provided by tv,

increasing protein,

similar attire,

identical homes,

at least for those

who can afford homes,

individualism

definitely receding,

conquered by stereotypes.

 

 

Erratic Days

 

We can no longer rely

on stable weather patterns,

with rapid temperature flux,

extremely powerful storms,

too much or too little rain,

all disrupting acclimatization,

due to the shock of climate change.

 

 

Korean Understudies

 

Huge armies

armed with powerful weapons

capable of great destruction,

face each other, kept apart

by an imaginary line

arbitrarily designed

to separate two enemies,

supported by two rivals,

avoiding direct warfare,

substituting tensions

for violent confrontation

by volatile proxies.