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The Poems

John Yamrus: “when i die” & Four More Poems

By John Yamrus on April 24, 2013 in Poetry

14

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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.

*****

when i die,

do
me
a
favor

and
do
not
write

R.I.P.

on
the
rear
window

of
your
car.

***

sometimes

the
poem

asks
to not

be
written.

it’s
there,

but
i

respect

its
silence.

***

when i said to Frankie

the internet poet,
that posting poems
on the net
is a monumental waste of time
and talent, and does
nothing at all
for book
sales,

he said
he didn’t
care a thing
for sales, and
more often than not
he traded copies of his
books
for books by
other guys (who i’m sure
are also
internet poets).

he said
he wasn’t in it
for the pay day…
he just wanted to
share his gift
with the
world.

let
that
give him
something
to think about

the
next time
the gas bill’s
due.

***

i love you

at
70
miles
an
hour,

in
traffic,

on
the
Schuylkill expressway,

when
everything
else
around
me

has turned to

madness,

spilled wine

and
fear.

***

until

a
few
days ago,
my favorite
first line
from a
novel

was the Bukowski book

that
started out:
“It began as a mistake.”

now,
my favorite
first line in a novel
comes from Peter Pan,

which reads:

“All children, except one, grow up.”

and that’s
really

the
only
mistake.

Cultural Weekly is proud to premiere these poems in this edition.

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About the author

John Yamrus

John Yamrus

Poet John Yamrus’s other memoirs are the highly acclaimed Memory Lane and RMA. He is the author of over 30 previous books. His work has been translated into nine languages. He is a life-long dog lover and lives with his wife Kathy and their dog Stella. His website is: http://www.johnyamrus.com

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