PrintPoem – Accidents Will Happen (By Gary Beck)
Accidents Will Happen
A man walks down the street
ears covered
with hi-tech headphones
playing music
from his IPOD,
carefully recorded
for his listening pleasure,
and doesn’t hear
the warning sound
of a building falling on him.
A woman walks down the street
eyes intent
on her smartphone’s keyboard
texting her friend
with urgent fingers,
describing her latest purchase,
a new lipstick,
and she doesn’t see
the oncoming bus
bearing down on her.
This poem is part of a collection titled ‘Learning Curve’ by Gary Beck, which until now has remained an unpublished collection concerned with the decline of Western civilization, as leading figures struggle with the issues of our times.
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.