I lost my love in a telephone booth
in a drugstore on Broadway.
It cost twenty five cents.
I lost my precious gifts of time,
joy,
her teeth fastened to my neck.
I heard her voice
remote,
speaking in another tongue,
I could not understand her.
I screamed in my anguish:
love,
need,
I want to nibble on your ear lobe.
She could not hear me.
A rancorous operator translated:
"I’ll call you if I change my mind."
I stood at the counter,
paid for an aspirin heart
and went home
to listen for the telephone.
GARY BECK has spent most of his adult life as a theater director and worked as an art dealer when he couldn't earn a living in the theater. He has also been a tennis pro, a ditch digger and a salvage diver. His chapbook 'Remembrance' was published by Origami Condom Press, 'The Conquest of Somalia' was published by Cervena Barva Press, 'The Dance of Hate' was published by Calliope Nerve Media and 'Mutilated Girls' is being published by Bedouin Press. A collection of his poetry 'Days of Destruction' was published by Skive Press. Another collection 'Expectations' was published by Rogue Scholars Press. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway and toured colleges and outdoor performance venues. His poetry has appeared in hundreds of literary magazines. He currently lives in New York City.
