Pride-less
Joseph D. Stec was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio (USA) to a family of Polish and Ukrainian immigrants. After studying English Literature at Miami University, he worked on the American Stock Exchange in New York City. After witnessing the lingering devastation of the September 11th firsthand, he moved to Poland to lecture at university. Joseph has since also lived and worked in Ukraine, Russia, Istanbul, Belgrade, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Pride-less
No pride,
only envy.
A Lost pack is packed away
caged off
and caged in,
completely and quietly castrated
The King of the Caravan
is parked aside a concrete castle
court-less
excluding clown and jester
Prairie picnics-
bloodless paws drip of ersatz steak
force-fed
from frozen jungles
from non-trophy huntresses
Reduced to prey
as
covetous brothers
telepathically trade chains
Only envy,
no pride.
Pride-less
Joseph D. Stec, USElegy
Michael Free, South Korea