By Gary Beck
PROMPT—Privilege ...
The sun rises late,
sets earlier,
but some of us hardly notice
bound to city cycles,
wake, rise, hygiene,
rush to work
on urban transit,
always late, crowded,
then the job
which many hate,
a survival necessity
like peasants of eld
tilling the fields
for bare sustenance,
then return home
on urban transit,
always late, crowded,
greet the family unit,
unsumptuous dinner,
park in front of the tv,
too tired for social media,
doze off, wake, hygiene,
then to sleep
to rise again,
no reward
only repetition
as the universe contracts
beyond our perception.
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 36 poetry collections, 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 1 collection of essays, and 7 books of plays. Gary writes from New York City.