Ivan Jenson- Three Poems

Touchy Subjects

Please tell me

if I have a 

trail of toilet  

paper on my shoe

while making

my great

entrance 

or

if I have a chive

on my tooth

while 

waxing 

philosophical at

a fancy restaurant 

let me know 

if I have

less than perfect

manners 

or breath

or if I have

stepped on your 

foot or your

moment

or punch line

and please inform 

me

if I have worn 

out my welcome

at the party

or overused 

my tongue

during 

a French kiss

but if I am ever

on 

life support

don't pull the plug

just because

I have an 

out of body

issue

Finger Licking Good

I always

function best

by the seat of my

pants

working against 

the clock

with pressure 

breathing down

my neck

when my name

is on the line

with no idea

what I am doing

until it is already 

done

and then

the proof is

in my homemade

word

pudding

sugared

and sprinkled

with 

spontaneity 

and received 

with chocolate

or vanilla kisses 

and somehow 

I always get away

with it all

without having

to do the dirty dishes 

The Story Goes 

There was a time

when landlines

used to ring

in empty houses

with nobody

to pick up

the receiver 

back when

people lost

track of 

friends faces

in phone books

and these 

were the days

when you

would get lost

in a library

attempting

to search

for a subject

as simple 

as, "who 

first said

Simon Says?"

back when

McDonald's

hadn't yet

served a 

billion

burgers 

and I lived

during 

those 

ancient 

times

when 

the Indian

appeared

on 

the screen

when 

the TV went

dead

and the 

only trace

of these times

is in the 

soon-to-crash

hard drive 

of my head

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 was commissioned by Absolut Vodka to make a painting titled “Absolut Jenson” for the brand’s national ad campaign. His Absolut paintings are in the collection of the Spiritmusuem, the museum of spirits in Stockholm, Sweden. Jenson's painting of the “Marlboro Man” was collected by the Philip Morris corporation. Ivan was commissioned to paint the final portrait of the late Malcolm Forbes. 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