Three Poems

By Ivan Jenson

Airborne Yesterday

Listen
it’s not you
it’s this pandemic
so I kinda need
personal space
right now
I need to stay
at least six feet
away from love
so blame the virus
for what is happening
with us
under other circumstances
I would kiss you
just below your earlobe
but right now
I’m a total germaphobe
look I know you’re not pleased
but what hurts me most
is not that you cried
but that you sneezed

Lockdown Lament

I long to sit with you
in a crowded theatre
so I can yell
“desire!”
because from
here to California
it is love in the time
of Corona
and so I will
live stream me
if you promise
to FaceTime you
because our
favorite restaurant
is closed except
for take-out
so we have to
go to a park
if we want to
make out
and no this pill
I am giving you
is not ecstasy
even better
sweetheart
it’s vitamin C

The New Normal

There were a few people who stayed
the same as the world changed
and some altered the hemline
of their slacks to make way
for the flood
while others gave or mainlined
the blood that ran through
their veins or the streets
but I only looked out
the bay window
like the captain of
a flying ship
heading for the hills of clouds
where I saw mostly empty jets
as if there was anywhere to go
to escape the steady drum
of what this world has become

Ivan Jenson is an artist, novelist and poet who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His romantic thriller novel The Murderess will be published in 2021 by Dark Edge Press, UK. www.ivanjenson.com 

I decided early in the pandemic lockdown that I must transcend the confines
of this situation. So, I buckled down at home and wrote a romantic thriller
novel, The Murderess. As luck would have it, Dark Edge Press, UK, accepted
my manuscript. The book will be released worldwide in the summer of 2021.
This fall, I remained isolated, yet found further inspiration, so I wrote a
follow-up paranormal romantic thriller novel. Plus, I’ve been consistently
writing poetry and seeing them get published. My dream is to emerge from
quarantine as a best-selling author.