Self Destruction

by Gary Beck / June 23rd, 2024

I sit by the East River
on a sunny Spring morning,
the water no longer clean.
The current brings human waste
to the polluted ocean
that will take longer to taint
than smaller waterways,
succumbing more quickly
to the inundation
of so much detritus
that we may not save
the liquid of life.

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, June 23rd, 2024 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.