Vistas of History

by Gary Beck / April 9th, 2017

A renaissance portrait
of an Italian nobleman
hangs in the museum
displaying to viewers
the cruel, ruthless face
of inherited privilege
ravaged by indulgence.
This is a picture of his times
when the corrupt few
wallowed in luxury,
unlike counterparts today
concealing their voracity
in controlled expressions,
striving to pass for human.

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, April 9th, 2017 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.