THE DECLINE OF VERSE

 

Emotional eunuchs guard

the portals of poetry

and arbitrarily judge

who is allowed to enter.

Armed with the weapons of style,

they have forgotten substance.

In the safety of college

they are immune to the struggle

that consumes mankind daily,

and prefer a metaphor

to an unadorned statement.

They never seem to wonder

why people no longer feel

a thrill reading poetry.

Gary Beck's poetry has appeared in dozens of literary magazines. His chapbook 'The Conquest of Somalia' will be published by Cervena Barva Press. His plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes, and Sophocles have been produced Off-Broadway.

Dance to Death, Issue VII

©2008 Sorrowland Press and all respective artists within.