Ivan Jenson - Three Poems

An Honest Mistake

mirror mirror in the stall
who is this man in
this reverberating room
who just moments ago
excused himself
and left his date
to collect his thoughts
and a
few mints
and why is he
splashing his face
with tap water
and then
pressing
his hands into
prayer position
in the air dryer
while wishing
for this night
to end
with a kiss
and now
the object
of his desire
enters that
sacred
place
and he
realizes
he is in
the ladies room



Early Harvest

reckless truth
has dragged
you
kicking and dreaming
raggedy
and uncombed
into my late
blooming garden
dirty and delicious
and like orange
peels your
clothing is
strewn
across
the floor
broken off buttons
like seeds scattered
yes, this
is the juicy part
my
sun-kissed
freshly squeezed
bite-sized mistress



Turning Point

Shanty Town
memory
your thin walls
murmur like motel
lovers in the
other room
while I surrender
to a brutally
honest intervention
of concerned friends
who hold cold black
coffee and tell me
that I have been
such an ass for at least
a decade if not two
and insist I go for rehab
to the padded institution
of committed love
yet they cannot promise
me that it won’t hurt
to have feelings again
while some special
someone waits
for me to surrender
and say “Hi"
to her power



Ivan Jenson has enjoyed unprecedented success publishing his poetry in the US, the UK, Sweden and France and he has received recognition for his bold Pop Art. His Absolut Jenson painting was featured in Art News, Art in America, and he has sold several works at Christie’s, New York. Ivan Jenson is highly sought after for his popular and dynamic live readings on the stage. His poems have appeared in Word Riot, Camroc Press Review, Poetry Super Highway, Alternative Reel Poets Corner, Underground voices magazine, Blazevox, and many others. Ivan Jenson is also a Contributing Editor for Commonline magazine. He now writes novels and poetry in Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.ivanjensonartist.com.