Poem – Separate, but… (By Gary Beck)

Separate, but…

 

The boss told me

I did a good job

and the extra hours

I put in last week

secured a big account.

He couldn’t give me a raise

because the economy was poor:

‘As soon as earnings pick up’…

But it didn’t stop him

from a luxury vacation

in France and Italy.

 

Now is it just me,

or is that unfair?

I slaved for him

and got nothing.

He did little

and was rewarded.

 

I can’t get a better job,

there aren’t any,

so I should be grateful

for what I have,

but I can’t help resenting

unequal treatment,

though I can’t do anything

to change it.

 

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.