Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In “Hold On A Minute”, poet and critic Ezekiel Yu delivers an excellent ario poem strikingly similar to the tone, content, and style of Bruce Ario’s own. It is set against footage of an MTA bus in New York City, around the Briarwood and Jamaica neighborhoods in Queens.
Bruce Ario (1955 – 2022) was a Minneapolis poet who created the “ario” poetic form, a 10-line poem with 3 stanzas of 3 lines each, concluding with a final line that inverts that which preceded it.
ArtiFact #35: The Life & Times Of Bruce Ario: youtube.com/watch?v=ycAD9s57Re8
Read more from Ezekiel Yu: automachination.com/author/ezekiel-yu
Background video from the MTA & New York City footage of @lgalink70sbs
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Text of poem:
Hold on a Minute
* an ario for Bruce Ario
Nicer than the bus fare
it clinks down the machine
I'm staying on to stay on.
So much of motion, rhyme,
joy, lust, sounds – record
time but how can I keep it?
Was it true like a life?
It's only passing through,
a little quick and nothing
I could think to never catch.
Tags: #poetry, #newyorkcity, #asianamerican, #citytour, #queens, #publictransport
In “Hold On A Minute”, poet and critic Ezekiel Yu delivers an excellent ario poem strikingly similar to the tone, content, and style of Bruce Ario’s own. It is set against footage of an MTA bus in New York City, around the Briarwood and Jamaica neighborhoods in Queens.
Bruce Ario (1955 – 2022) was a Minneapolis poet who created the “ario” poetic form, a 10-line poem with 3 stanzas of 3 lines each, concluding with a final line that inverts that which preceded it.
ArtiFact #35: The Life & Times Of Bruce Ario: youtube.com/watch?v=ycAD9s57Re8
Read more from Ezekiel Yu: automachination.com/author/ezekiel-yu
Background video from the MTA & New York City footage of @lgalink70sbs
If you found this video useful, support us on our Patreon page and get patron-only content: patreon.com/automachination
Subscribe to the ArtiFact podcast on Spotify: spoti.fi/3xw2M4D
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3wLpqEV
Google Podcasts: bit.ly/3dSQXxJ
Amazon Music: amzn.to/2SVJIxB
Podbean: bit.ly/3yzLuUo
iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/3AK942L
Read more from the automachination universe: automachination.com
Read Alex Sheremet’s (archived) essays: alexsheremet.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/automachination
Text of poem:
Hold on a Minute
* an ario for Bruce Ario
Nicer than the bus fare
it clinks down the machine
I'm staying on to stay on.
So much of motion, rhyme,
joy, lust, sounds – record
time but how can I keep it?
Was it true like a life?
It's only passing through,
a little quick and nothing
I could think to never catch.
Tags: #poetry, #newyorkcity, #asianamerican, #citytour, #queens, #publictransport
