ivan jenson
August 2015, Issue 2
miming my own business
I am
sent
like a
clown
to sculpt
the colorful
helium
balloons
of language
and when my
squeaky
masterpieces
are done
they lift off
into the sky
like mini-Snoopys
so please
don't rain
on my
Thanksgiving
parade
just
consider me
a Jack-in-the-Box
of all
trades
and
a master
of pun
sent
like a
clown
to sculpt
the colorful
helium
balloons
of language
and when my
squeaky
masterpieces
are done
they lift off
into the sky
like mini-Snoopys
so please
don't rain
on my
Thanksgiving
parade
just
consider me
a Jack-in-the-Box
of all
trades
and
a master
of pun
wild child
you try to understand
where they are coming from
after they come home
at five a.m. inebriated
you try to see things
their way
as they stare blankly
at the walls
you try to truly hear
what they are saying
as they mumble indecipherably
under their breath like Brando
and you think you can save them
but then they dive into the deep end
of a pool filled
with empty sorrow
and so you try
to resuscitate them
with your kiss of life
but like a stray black cat
that has brought you bad luck
they know damn well
they have at least
nine lives left
so they don't mind
wasting your only one
where they are coming from
after they come home
at five a.m. inebriated
you try to see things
their way
as they stare blankly
at the walls
you try to truly hear
what they are saying
as they mumble indecipherably
under their breath like Brando
and you think you can save them
but then they dive into the deep end
of a pool filled
with empty sorrow
and so you try
to resuscitate them
with your kiss of life
but like a stray black cat
that has brought you bad luck
they know damn well
they have at least
nine lives left
so they don't mind
wasting your only one
spoon and swoon
nobody could
top your
abilities
when it came to
making a guy
like me feel
like the world
of your skin
was my oyster
and the sky
of your eyes
my limit
you taught me
the ins and outs of
belly buttons
the highs and lows
of an on-and-off
relationship
your particular
expertise was
the burlesque
tease
of infectious
laughter at all the
wrong places during
a bad movie
and your tearful
confessions at
all the right parts
of a heart-to-heart
you are
a legend
in my own mind
as I burn my
soul
walking on
that Hollywood
walk of old flames
top your
abilities
when it came to
making a guy
like me feel
like the world
of your skin
was my oyster
and the sky
of your eyes
my limit
you taught me
the ins and outs of
belly buttons
the highs and lows
of an on-and-off
relationship
your particular
expertise was
the burlesque
tease
of infectious
laughter at all the
wrong places during
a bad movie
and your tearful
confessions at
all the right parts
of a heart-to-heart
you are
a legend
in my own mind
as I burn my
soul
walking on
that Hollywood
walk of old flames
the last hurrah
one sweet evening
the many and varied
characters
and caricatures
that I have known
from the sublime
to the incredulous
will attend a
costume ball
that I will throw
where everyone
will be required
to dress
as themselves
and wear the mask
that they are
and we will dance
to the sound of
things
that we have said
to each other
all these years
set against the
techno beat
of now
and we will
work out
our differences
by drinking the
same punch
laced with
grace
and
my “members only”
menagerie of
mankind
and
womankind
will catch up
on old times
as new time
leaves early
to relieve
the baby sitter
of tomorrow
the many and varied
characters
and caricatures
that I have known
from the sublime
to the incredulous
will attend a
costume ball
that I will throw
where everyone
will be required
to dress
as themselves
and wear the mask
that they are
and we will dance
to the sound of
things
that we have said
to each other
all these years
set against the
techno beat
of now
and we will
work out
our differences
by drinking the
same punch
laced with
grace
and
my “members only”
menagerie of
mankind
and
womankind
will catch up
on old times
as new time
leaves early
to relieve
the baby sitter
of tomorrow
quantum leapfrog
they say it is
now possible
to do what
just a few years ago
would have seemed
fantastic
and I have heard about
major breakthroughs
that would boggle
those who grew up
before any of this
was even a glimmer
in the global mind's eye
and pretty soon they are
going to come up with
solutions to problems
that we waste our time
grappling with
when all we have to do is
wait for the experts
to stop teasing
and start revealing
their brand new body
of evidence
so that
eventually
the unbelievable
becomes commonplace
and taken for granted
like a miracle
on 34th Street
now possible
to do what
just a few years ago
would have seemed
fantastic
and I have heard about
major breakthroughs
that would boggle
those who grew up
before any of this
was even a glimmer
in the global mind's eye
and pretty soon they are
going to come up with
solutions to problems
that we waste our time
grappling with
when all we have to do is
wait for the experts
to stop teasing
and start revealing
their brand new body
of evidence
so that
eventually
the unbelievable
becomes commonplace
and taken for granted
like a miracle
on 34th Street
Ivan Jenson is a fine artist, novelist and contemporary poet. His artwork was featured in Art in America, Art News, and Interview Magazine and has sold at auction at Christie’s. Ivan has written two novels, Dead Artist and Seeing Soriah, both of which illustrate the creative and often dramatic lives of artists. Jenson's poetry is widely published (with over 450 poems published in the US, UK and Europe) in a variety of literary media. A book of Ivan Jenson's poetry was recently published by Hen House Press titled Media Child and Other Poems, which can be acquired on Amazon. Two new novels by Ivan Jenson entitled, Marketing Mia and Erotic Rights will be published hardcover and will be available for purchase at bookstores worldwide. Ivan Jenson's website is: www.IvanJenson.com