Alchemy by John Yamrus

 
Alchemy
by John Yamrus
Alchemy© 2014 by John Yamrus
Epic Rites Press
Woodbridge, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada
softbound, 188 pages, $13.50



The author of a foreword to Alchemy by John Yamrus invokes the names of Han Shan, Bukowski, William Carlos Williams, Frank O'Hara, Ezra Pound, Keats, Charlotte Smith, George Barker, Wallace Stevens and Jack Gilbert. Yamrus is none of these. What he is, however, is a fun poet, easy to read, not easy to forget.


Some poetry books, while not great are just plain worth reading. Simple, straightforward, Yamrus’s work is one of those – worth reading. And here is a short review of a long book
with short poems.


Here are some examples, in which there are truths, humor or whatever else you might uncover reading them:


she

had
a
power
that
made
other
women
seem

unimportant.



after my colonoscopy

the
doctor
came in and
said he found nothing

that was funny…

if you believe my critics,
I thought for sure
he’d find my
head.



i’ll

tell you one thing
for certain…

i’ve got a lot more
yesterdays

than tomorrows.

the
only thing

good
about that

is they
all were spent

with you


And so on and so on go. These poems will make you think about yourself or others you know. They awaken old memories, some good, some not, but for some reason they make
you keep on reading because they say something with which you will associate. Isn’t that the wonderful part of poetry?




Zvi A. Sesling
Author, King of the Jungle and Across Stones of Bad Dreams
Editor, Muddy River Poetry Review
Publisher, Muddy River Books
Editor, Bagel Bards Anthology 7 & Anthology 8