Alteration

People sit in Bryant Park
enjoying the safe hint of nature,
lots of flowers, aging sycamore trees.
Game areas, food stands, diversions,
all combine for a pleasant experience.
No one able to imagine
this oasis in the city
was once a pollution site
of drugs, crime and violence,
strenuously avoided
by tourists and locals alike.

Gary Beck spent his life as a theater director/playwright. He has had 21 poetry books, 7 novels, 3 short story collections and 1 book of essays published. Gary’s original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off-Broadway in New York City, where he resides. Read other articles by Gary.