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Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Listening to Chet Baker

 
—Poetry by John Yamrus, Pennsylvania
—Artwork Courtesy of Public Domain



after the reading,
    
a
reporter
for the student paper

asked me
what career i would take

if
i wasn’t a writer.

i
looked at him

and said:
at this point in my life
i guess porn star is out of the question.  

the
poor kid
looked at me.  

he
didn’t
know what to say.  

neither did i. 
 
 
 

 
he was

drunk
and more
than a little bit crazy

and
made the mistake
of leaving the live video feed

on
his computer open

and when
he was done reading his poems

all that
was left was this sad

drunk
old man
and the sound
of him walking from room to room

trying
to see where
the magic had gone.
 
 
 


i’ve been shit on...

this time
by a
bird
whose aim
was more direct,
on target
and effective
than any of
the critics
who
dislike me,
my poems,
my attitude,
my way of writing
or
just
my way of
seeing things.

in
fact,
this bird
should write
a book
and call it:

“John Yamrus is in my sights...lean,
mean and as i see him”...


it’s
a little long
for the title of a book,

but,
then,
this was

one
hell of a bird.

i’d tip my cap
to him,

but,
like i said...

he’s
got me
in his sights.
 
 
 
 
 
she said

touch
spit to me

and
i sizzle.

that’s
way too hot

he
said.

damn it,
pass the tequila.
 
 
 
 
in dog obedience class…

for once,
my little Abby
did everything right.

for
once,
she didn’t
bite, jump or pull.

this time
she paid attention

and sat
and stayed

and came
and listened…

just like all the other dogs.

i can’t tell you how much
i hated
that.
 
 

 
i’m

right now
sitting out back,
listening to Chet Baker—
the James Dean of ‘50s jazz—
and reading me some Kerouac,

(Big Sur),

while
the sun
goes down
behind the fence
right in front of me.

how
god damn perfect

is
that?

___________________

Today’s LittleNip:

they


both
knew it

do
any
one thing

long
enough

and
you’ll
see things
to break your heart

—John Yamrus

____________________

Welcome back to the Kitchen today to John Yamrus, who was first featured on Medusa’s Kitchen on June 25, 2022 (medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2022/06/that-killer-instinct.html). Today’s poems are from from his book,
Selected Poems: The Director’s Cut, now available at www.amazon.com/Selected-Poems-Directors-John-Yamrus/dp/0578284138/.

_____________________

—Medusa
 
 
 
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy
of Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
 







 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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