Three Poems by Gary Beck

 

Wounded Land

Children leave the school

single file,

hands over heads, 

intently watched

by armed cops

looking for a shooter

concealed with the innocent,

tensions so high

one accidental move

might make an intense cop

open fire.

Memories

When I was a young girl

my family went to New Smyrna Beach,

a small, sleepy Florida beach town

for much of the long winter.

I walked the beach

collecting sea shells.

Sometimes I found a conch,

brought it to my ear,

listened to the eerie sound

of the ocean

and didn't return it to the sea.

Now that I am old

my grandchildren and I 

still visit New Smyrna Beach

that now teems with tourists.

We walk the beach

but there are no shells.

When I tell them that once

there were flocks of shorebirds

they pretend to listen,

but their thumbs are busy

texting their friends.

Forgotten Flights

Old Grey Wing keeps telling us

of the pelicans of old

as we try to nest on the little island,

forced to fly when humans come

interrupting his tale of our fathers.

Sometimes the humans come

after dark, forcing us to fly

in the dangerous night,

some too tired at first light

to hunt for fish.

We try not to notice

those who make their last flight

and we try to ignore

old Grey Wing's tales

of flights of hundreds

in great Pelican V's,

filling the skies,

not like today

when the most we see

are flights of 8 or 9

that can't agree on a leader.

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 Moliers, 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 35 poetry collections, 14 novels, 3 short story collections, 1 collection of essays and 7 books of plays.  Gary lives in New York City.