Poetry: he was by John Yamrus

he was

drawn

to this bit

of graffiti he saw

written in white paint

on the side of a building.

it was

in an alley,

and it read:

“fuck the world –

and fuck you if you don’t love it.”

 

later that week,

looking to get the words just right,

 

he

went back,

 

and

when he

got there, it was gone –

 

not

just the words

 

and

the wall,

 

but

the whole

damn building.

torn down.

 

gone.

and, fuck you if you don’t love that.

John Yamrus’s career spans more than 50 years as a working writer. He has published 35 books (29 volumes of poetry, 2 novels, 3 volumes of non-fiction and a children’s book). He has also had nearly 3,000 poems published in magazines and anthologies around the world. A book of his selected poems was just released in Albania, translated into that language by Fadil Bajraj, who is best known for his translations of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Bukowski, Ginsberg, Pound and others. A number of Yamrus’s books and poems are taught in college and university courses. His most recent book is Selected Poems: The Directors (Concrete Mist Press)