Men of purpled cloisters
I see your heavy robes of 3:00 a.m.
guttered on Fifth Avenue
as the long night passes
to a woman’s frightened scream.
O woman who I love
whose gift is pain,
in my midnight self
I cry in secret horror
at my abusive hands
which give you hurt.
If I could tear my granite chest,
pluck my pulsing love,
you would see my madness die,
the marks of cruel fingers fade.

—

Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director. Published chapbooks include Remembrance, Origami Condom Press; The Conquest of Somalia, Cervena Barva Press; and The Dance of Hate, Calliope Nerve Media, among others. His novel Extreme Change was published by Cogwheel Press and his collection of short stories, A Glimpse of Youth was published by Sweatshoppe Publications. 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.