From 19th and Snyder
In Memory of John Paul Arthur, Jr.
June 8, 1964 – June 11, 2026
picking his urn
would he have wanted
these blues?
My father’s nightstand
The Great Gatsby
so much unfinished
lucky chip
his final final table
“shuffle up and deal”
strumming the chords
to Old Man, I add
an extra refrain
first fatherless Father’s Day
my daughters pull me
to their present
*
John Arthur is a writer and musician from New Jersey. His debut chapbook Lucy the Elephant Wins in a Landslide was grand prize winner of the 2025 The Poetry Box Chapbook contest and was released in February 2026. His work has appeared in Rattle, Diagram, ONE ART, Frogpond, trampset, and many other places. His band is The Deafening Colors.
Great haikus!