Sightless

The reflection of light
through tainted air,
etches the moment
on gloating buildings,
blinding people
and drowns the stars,
until the dawn
annuls our vision.



Rent Due

Knowing you are not an echo
and only extended convalescence
will heal the emasculate breach in me,
I cry farewell, across city canyons.
But you, too busy tourist,
bend one abortive knee
before your clutching whim
and never pause to listen
to my solitary song,
that creeps past dawn
to the garbage copse of tenements,
until it’s swallowed by the East River.


Gary Beck’s poetry has appeared in dozens of literary magazines. His recent fiction has been published in numerous literary magazines. His chapbook, 'The Conquest of Somalia', will be published by Cervena Barva Press. His plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes, and Sophocles have been produced Off-Broadway.