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 41 poetry collections, 16 novels, 4 short story collections, 2 collection of essays and 8 books of plays. Gary lives in New York City.
www.garycbeck.com
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1. Rigors (153 times seen)
24-07-2024 | Poems
Gary Beck/Rigors
Disorder
Gunshots echo again
as we huddle on the floor
hoping the street battle
will be over soon
before bullets penetrate
the walls of our apartment
in public housing.
Almost every night now
shooting starts after dark
so we don’t dar...
2. Objectives (364 times seen)
19-03-2024 | Poems
Gary Beck/Objectives
Shelter
I don’t like living here.
There’s no heat in winter.
It’s sweaty hot in summer.
None of the people are nice.
This one guy wants to sex me.
I told him I was only twelve
but that didn’t matter to him.
He keep try...
3. Glimpses (496 times seen)
10-11-2023 | Poems
Gary Beck/Glimpses
Coincidence?
We survived the Cold War,
though a few times
obliteration murmured
and defeated the Soviet Union
by outspending the big, bad, bear.
Yet ongoing threats
to American security
changed the nation,
gave the oligarchs
opportunity
...
4. Molecular Distortion (559 times seen)
23-08-2023 | Poems
Gary Beck/Molecular Distortion
Dumbing Down
The rush of technology
in the Information Age
has left many behind.
The switch from horse and buggy
to the automobile
separated those
who couldn’t catch up
to the new ride
and eager drivers.
The challenge to...
5. Discoveries (778 times seen)
11-02-2023 | Poems
Gary Beck/Discoveries
Strange Surroundings
I have always lived
in alien enclaves.
never taking root
no matter how long I stayed
in one place
long enough to belong,
my distance from others
engraved in my soul,
that for some reason,
cause, curse, inheritance,...
6. Double Envelopment (959 times seen)
16-09-2022 | Poems
Gary Beck/Double Envelopment
Unfair
A child asked me:
“Why do some people have so much
and some so little?”
I searched for words of comfort,
but found none.
I considered explanations,
greed, capitalism,
inherited wealth,
but they wouldn’t mea...
7. Unillumined (1280 times seen)
08-05-2022 | Poems
Gary Beck/Unillumined
City Fixture
The homeless sit
on unrelenting streets
cardboard signs
advertising need.
Passersby seldom notice
the invisable men
hulking on concrete nests.
Learning Gap
The pace of life
changes incrementally.
the...
8. Unveilings (1042 times seen)
28-01-2022 | Poems
Gary Beck/Unveilings
Political Sketch
Too many of us
have become so angry,
so self-righteous
we don’t care if our country
is torn apart,
rather than reach across
the great divide
and compromise.
Soon we will be like Russia
oligarchs, functionaries, se...
9. Purpose (1005 times seen)
29-08-2021 | Poems
Gary Beck/Purpose
Assessment
I sit among the aged, infirm,
in the hospital room
and know I am aged, infirm.
Unlike some I do not cry:
'where did the time go?'
I know where it went.
A lot of excitement.
A lot of fulfillment.
Frustrat...
10. Lacerations (1135 times seen)
19-03-2021 | Poems
Gary Beck/Lacerations
Oglescope
The weather is still warm enough
for women to wear short skirts,
tight tops, bare midriffs,
a visual pleasure
for those who care to look,
soon to be removed
with the first chill of fall.
Ponderous Changes
In the ...
11. Learning Curve (1233 times seen)
02-11-2020 | Poems
Gary Beck/Learning Curve
Urban Reaches
Alone in a great city
strangers pass,
intent on jobs, crime,
shopping, terror.
I know not what.
They all look remote,
don’t say ‘good morning’,
don’t meet my gaze,
except the hostiles,
when I qu...
12. Fractional Disorder (1334 times seen)
28-04-2020 | Poems
Gary Beck/Fractional Disorder
Dread
In the prevailing climate
of imminent destruction
of civilization,
it may no longer be
in our nature
to save ourselves
before it is too late.
Exploration
I will no longer go
down to the river,
follow its flow...
13. Earth Links (1686 times seen)
26-06-2019 | Poems
Gary Beck/Earth Links
Celebration
Independence Day
may have meant
more in the 1780’s,
liberty just won,
a new nation
not yet as corrupt,
oppressive,
as the old world,
new citizens hopeful
the eloquent promise
of new government
would bring freedom.
Smolde...
14. Transitions (1894 times seen)
29-08-2018 | Poems
Gary Beck/Transitions
Do As I Say
Primitive man
didn't understand
the nature of the universe
and developed superstitions
when answers were needed
to make sense of life.
When tribes gave way
to church and state
the new leaders
promptly took charge
of ...
15. Too Harsh For Pastels (2197 times seen)
30-11-2017 | Poems
Too Harsh For Pastels is an unpublished poetry collection that is concerned with the suffering and growing despair in our troubled society.
Diversion III
The captain reports
fuel tanks are full,
water tank topped off,
preparations made
for a day on the boat.
The chef reports
fresh caviar...
16. Mortal Coil (2914 times seen)
23-03-2017 | Poems
Mortal Coil is an unpublished poetry collection that grapples with the frailty of this conflicted life.
Traveler’s Cares
Perils of the deep
concern fewer and fewer
voyagers,
since air travel
obsoleted ships.
We go from place to place
faster, safer
then ever...
17. Virtual Living (2910 times seen)
11-07-2016 | Poems
Virtual Living is an unpublished collection vitally concerned with the growing frequency of substituting electronic interaction for physical activity.
Future War
Cyber warriors
defend the nation
from sneak attack
seated comfortably
at computer screens,
never face an en...
18. Blunt Force (2865 times seen)
03-02-2016 | Poems
Gary Beck/Blunt Force
Undesired Devices
Terror hovers in the air,
as people go about
normal routines,
some concerned
with enemy threats,
some indifferent,
others oblivious
until detonations
loudly demand
they share danger.
Clumsy Giant
Now t...
19. Rulers (3386 times seen)
19-05-2015 | Poems
Gary Beck/Contusions
Rulers
Chiefs once evolved
from their ability
to provide food, security,
earning the clan's gratitude
for service to the people.
Tyrants pretended to care
until they were strong enough
to take more than their fair shar...
20. Rank Hath Its (3430 times seen)
19-05-2015 | Poems
Gary Beck/Contusions
Rank Hath Its…
Many Generals were killed
in the brutal Civil War,
when leaders led from the front.
Few Generals died
on the battlefields
in succeeding wars,
having convinced themselves
and the gullible public
that they wer...
21. Obituaries (3133 times seen)
19-05-2015 | Poems
Gary Beck/Contusions
Obituaries
Public housing was built
to better the condition
of the urban poor,
providing decent apartments
alternatives to tenements.
City planners didn't foresee
that along with regular people
the disaffected moved in...
22. Media Face (3393 times seen)
19-05-2015 | Poems
Gary Beck/Contusions
Media Face
Crowds flock to the voting booth
supporting the candidate
they never met,
but firmly believe in,
have strong opinions about,
argue passionately for
against those with contrary views,
giving a level of trust
that no one with comm...
23. In Memoriam (2900 times seen)
19-05-2015 | Poems
Gary Beck/Contusions
In Memoriam
Once again that fateful day
is remembered by some,
while many are forgetting,
as people always do,
the shock and urgency
of horrified reaction.
And as the buildings fell,
workers leaping from windows
rather than burni...
24. Desperate Seeker (3714 times seen)
17-03-2013 | Poems
Desperate Seeker: 'Internet Yearning', 'Diminishing Voices', 'Observer', 'Protective Shield', 'Travel II'
Internet Yearning
Ms lonely heart
sits at her computer
reviewing candidates
at an on-line dating service,
each one promising
to make ...
25. Assault on Nature (4813 times seen)
17-03-2013 | Poems
Assault on Nature: Media, Cash or Charge, War on Nature, Bridge, Two Visions
Media
Powerful light splits the night.
Cameras and crew lust the suffering
that is the entertainment of the people.
Trapped in violet despair,
the helpless victims can’t escape
the consuming dance of TV.
...
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