MILD PROTEST

Usually I spend my time

pondering the vast sweep of history.

War, man’s greatest endeavor,

takes the bulk of speculation.

Science should come next,

but I was ill-educated

and settled for liberal arts.

International affairs now command

less attention then domestic affairs,

as my struggling society devolves.

So in a rare moment

of literary indulgence

I mused of petty changes

forced upon my poems.

I no longer dream of the Persian Gulf ,

tainted by oil spills and Harpoon missiles.

I abandoned a renaissance address,

usurped by a pop culture Madonna.

I renounced the romance of the Nile

often flooded by ethnic cleansing.

Although these are trivial concerns,

undefended ivory towers

are fatally undermined

by harmful transgressions.

 

About Gary Beck:

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 chapbook 'Remembrance' was published by Origami Condom Press, 'The Conquest of Somalia' was published by Cervena Barva Press, 'The Dance of Hate' was published by Calliope Nerve Media and 'Material Questions' was published by Silkworms Ink, 'Dispossessed' was published by Medulla Press and 'Mutilated Girls' is being published by Heavy Hands Ink. A collection of his poetry 'Days of Destruction' was published by Skive Press. Another collection 'Expectations' was published by Rogue Scholars press. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway and toured colleges and outdoor performance venues. His poetry has appeared in hundreds of literary magazines. He currently lives in New York City .