Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/d4s3uw-AjsA) 01.10.2023.
Human Nature
It defies understanding,
that many people prefer
violent confrontations
to peaceful coexistence,
regardless of the cost
in lives and treasure lost.
Yet we repeat the pattern
over and over again,
when it’s always easier
to destroy then preserve
our children, homes, countries
in the need to kill enemies.
In the lust for power
and our greatest foe, greed,
we are always willing
to resort to bloody war,
for at best fleeting gains
that temporarily sate
bloated appetites.
About the Author: 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 39 poetry collections, 14 novels, 4 short story collections, 1 collection of essays and 7 books of plays. Gary lives in New York City.
