Barman

The Barman is the keeper of lost objects: a forgotten hoodie, a wallet full of cash, the strophes sung out in pain and despair, the beautiful moments that a rich life allows you to have and forget. Those lost objects that aren't returned to their owners or donated to Goodwill find themselves here in these poems. A fiddler marvels over the birth of his child. A slaughterhouse fly sips condensation off a pint glass. John Henry's father mourns the loss of his son. Saturn stops by for a visit. A love poem emerges on the back of a to-do list. In his third poetry collection, James Jay stands behind his bar, watches, listens, and gives these objects, moments, and feelings resonance.