Deaccession

As the city we love
submerges
into decay,
stores closing everywhere
no one concerned enough
to stop decline,
the wealthy secure
in castles of comfort
indifferent
to loss of jobs, homes,
and the people are silent,
overwhelmed
by disaster waiting
to embrace us.

Conditioned by the media
to passively accept
threats to existence.
we do not protest
the collapse of our future,
since it creeps up
on stealthy paws,
rather than Goth invasion.

And as prosperity seeps away
the privileged revel,
either too stupid to recognize
dependency on the people,
or too uncaring,
engrossed in fleeting pleasures,
blandly assuming
they’ll sail to safety
on mega-yachts,
find luxurious refuge
in another land,
continue their feasting.

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 40 poetry collections, 16 novels, 4 short story collections, 2 collection of essays and 8 books of plays. Gary lives in New York City. Read other articles by Gary.