John Yamrus has published 20 volumes of poetry and 2 novels. He has also had more than 1,400 poems published in print magazines around the world. His latest book, BARK, is a collection of poems about man’s best friend. His website is johnyamrus.com.
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she talks of the time
when she was
young and there was
a suicide down the street.
he did it
in the garage
and she can still
remember the blood
running under the door.
she doesn’t mention
doctors,
or
cops,
or even the worms
that waited.
________________________________
pancreatic cancer
has a way
of leveling the field.
she fought it
for three long years.
in the end,
it cut her down,
and there was
nothing else
to say.
________________________________
he put my book
down on his desk
and said:
i can’t seem
to call
the
stuff
you write
poetry.
i don’t know
what it is,
but it’s just not
poetry.
he
was
never
more
right
in
his
life.
________________________________
they stopped
asking
me to come to
their open mic nights.
i couldn’t
bring myself to
tell them
it bores the shit out of me to
hear “poets” read.
every time they’d ask
i’d make excuses.
i always had
some other plans,
even if they asked
weeks ahead.
they finally
stopped.
it’s good that way.
and quiet.
and, somehow
fitting:
they’ve got
their poems,
and i’ve got
mine.