Are We Them?

by Gary Beck / August 24th, 2025

The country is decaying.
We no longer make things.
Citizens are dumbing down.
The streets are dangerous,
gangs stealing from the merchants,
the elderly feel unsafe
when they dare take a walk.
The politicians bluster
but don’t make things better.
The scariest thing of all
our military is weak
and we’re not confident
they’re prepared to withstand
the foreign enemies
who hate us bitterly,
pray for our destruction
and we no longer know
if the distant legions
can still protect Rome.

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, August 24th, 2025 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.