Poetry: He Liked It By John Yamrus

he liked it

 

when 

she said 

(several times a week):

 

don’t 

interrupt me now, 

 

this 

sorrow i’m feeling 

is too good to ignore. 

 

that 

was cool, 

and he respected that. 

 

but then, 

there were also 

those days when she’d 

sit back in her chair and mumble to herself:

 

don’t 

let them 

shit in your ice cream 

and try to serve it to you cold.

John Yamrus is one of the most prolific writers of poetry on the scene today, He is widely considered to be a master of minimalism and the neo-noir in modern poetry. The relaxed style of his writing can be seen as a continuation of the oral tradition of literature associated with Allen Ginsberg and The Beats, and his poems are best appreciated when read aloud. The unlikely pairing of often dark subjects, combined with humor and irreverence has become something of a trademark of his work. His nearly 50 published books, which include not only poetry, but also novels, memoirs and a children’s book, are beginning to appear in translation, and he is a frequent guest on podcasts and television programs. His acclaimed memoir, The Street, is a look back at his early years, growing up less than wealthy, in a Pennsylvania coal town in the late 1950s. His latest books include: seriously! and Doing Cartwheels on Doomsday Afternoon.