Poem – Progress II (By Gary Beck)

Progress II

I think of all the people

killed in automobile accidents,

can only guess at the numbers

millions in America…

How many in the rest of the world?
Drunk drivers, careless drivers,

speeders, lane changers,

and the idiots

on cell phones, texting,

the various disturbances

that prevent control of powerful machines

that have no intelligence

and cannot tell the difference

between responsible drivers

and the many death givers.

I think of all the people

who will oppose driverless cars,

opting instead for murder and mayhem.

 

Author Bio:

Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director, and as an art dealer when he couldn’t make a living in theater. He has 11 published chapbooks and 3 more accepted for publication. His poetry collections include: Days of Destruction (Skive Press), Expectations (Rogue Scholars Press). Dawn in Cities, Assault on Nature, Songs of a Clerk, Civilized Ways, Displays, Perceptions & Fault Lines (Winter Goose Publishing). Tremors, Perturbations, Rude Awakenings and The Remission of Order will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. Conditioned Response (Nazar Look). Resonance (Dreaming Big Publications). His novels include: Extreme Change (Cogwheel Press), Flawed Connections (Black Rose Writing) and Call to Valor (Gnome on Pigs Productions). Sudden Conflicts will be published by Lillicat Publishers and State of Rage by Rainy Day Reads Publishing. His short story collection, A Glimpse of Youth (Sweatshoppe Publications). Now I Accuse and other stories will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. 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. He currently lives in New York City.