GARY BECK

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). Perceptions, Fault Lines and Tremors will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. Conditioned Response (Nazar Look). Blossoms of Decay will be published by 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). 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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                Unnatural Selection

A giant storm is coming
and people rush to prepare,
hurrying to supermarkets, hardware stores,
the sensible buying candles,
batteries, water, dried food,
thinking about survival.
The stupid buy beer, drugs, candy,
waiting to be entertained
by a destructive force
that no longer removes
the unfit, mentally deficient,
protected by big screen tvs.


                       Choices

​It is better to strive
for fragile happiness,
especially
when things go wrong
and misery beckons,
eager to encourage
self-pity, withdrawal
from the constant struggle
that afflicts us daily
in this demanding life
that promises no tomorrows,
except to the deluded
who cannot conceive
that their departure
may be a moment away,
decided abruptly
by the coincidence of fate.