Indictment

by Gary Beck / May 26th, 2019

I do not fear death,
too afraid of life
to dread the aftermath.
The horrors I have seen,
the evil I have done
tainted my soul.
I have not found redemption
despite the goodness I have known,
and all my efforts
to atone for bad deeds
is not consolation
that there are many worse.
As I approach my end of days
I try my best to do better
and leave good behind
as my fleeting memorial.

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.

This article was posted on Sunday, May 26th, 2019 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.