Kevin Olsen: Poet

“Too Blind to Hear”
6/28/2000

Look around but only see
The face that blankly stares at me.
Missing pain in others lives
Because the beam that blinds your eyes.

Don’t miss my plea. You may not catch
What I’m saying, what I’m screaming,
What you need, and what I meant,
Cause you’re too blind to hear the reasons
Why you’re wrong and why your seasons
Mix into a dreary night,
And why your plans don’t spin quite right.

You walk around on blistered knees
Because your base is aging weak.
Your thoughts and issues are your own;
You decorate your guilt-cursed home.

You’ve chosen not to learn.
You think that falling is the way
All girls live. Well, you’re on your way.
In your head you’re listening to
All the things you don’t want to
See in others or want to hear-
All the reasons you’re losing the name you fear.

Turn around. Watch your step
And find the beam that made you fret.
Move the house, lose your argue
And realize your fights number less than few.

Come back to me! Wake up!
You’re falling and you lost the rope.
You burned it up in effigy, so learn to float
On lessons learned from bridges torched.
Open ears, hear the host
Screaming out from silver planes,
Rebirth your life- live it clean again.

“A Chance for Silence”
Sonnet 143
7/22/00

What I wouldn’t give for silence;
For peace, and a chance
To sit and think of events
That seldom ever come to pass.
I’d let the minutes slowly roll
Until the numbers faded,
Then catch up on the secret stole
Which slipped off of my plans today.
Then and only then may I find,
In my peace of mind, that work
Fits me well; but for a time
I’m sure I’d smile to shirk that burdensome stork.
Still, if silent fog ever creeps my way
It may only damp the grass upon my grave.

“I Promise You”
6/24/2000

I wish I lived back in fourteen hundred
Where they picked up swords and dueled each other.
Live’n way back then
I could save a princess or a friend,

Or I’d strike down a dragon
And lift you up by the hand
And carry you off into
A brilliant sunset.
I promise you.
I’d take you to my castle by the sea
And have you live there forever; safe with me.
I promise you.

I wish I lived in the darkest jungle
Where the lions rule and the people tremble.
Live’n way out there
I could swing down through the air,

Then I’d save you from their bloody paws
And I’d swing with you, safe in my loving arms,
And carry you off into
A brilliant sunset.
I promise you.
I’d take you to my castle by the sea
And have you live there forever; safe with me.

But I don’t live back in fourteen hundred
And I don’t think I could wrestle lions
But I promise you, if you need a hand or two,
I will run or ride right to your side
And save you from all the tears that make you cry,
And carry you off into
A brilliant sunset
I promise you.
I’d take you to my home right on my street
And have you live there forever; safe with me.
My princess girl and my angel sweet
No matter what I’ll always, always be . . .
Yeah, I promise you.

These are actually song lyrics to “I Promise You” as performed by The WaLL JuMPeRs. I hope to include a link where you can hear an acoustic version of the song.

“The Ivy of My Life”
1/20/2000

From the moment that I sprung
My path was laid out fair.
So I grew up toward the sun
And followed fresher air.
But life will always change
As you grow around
Love, and hurt, and happiness,
And tears that drench the ground.
Following a different path
Then people gone before;
That’s the way the ivy grows,
It’s stronger through the storm.
Life will flow, and with it change
To thwart the path that’s planned.
Grown around a different bend
Has put me where I stand.
The ivy of my life is growing,
Stretching far beyond.
Maybe it’ll grow beside
A different kind of pond.
The ivy of our lives
Shows the gates we’ve climbed,
Which effect our state and growth
More than space or time.
Rising up to sometimes fall,
Being trimmed to keep in line,
Being watered, stand up tall,
And sometimes cut by lies.
The ivy of my life
May take some harder paths,
But in the end I know I’ll say
I’m glad at where I’m at.

“Learn from My Mistakes”
1/27/2000

I’m sifting through the ashes
Of memories that I’ve lost.
I’m picking up the pieces
Of my life from off the floor.
I’m trying to remember
The feelings of your touch.
I try to open twice
That locked and bolted door.

Wait a minute.

I’m trying something new now
From off the books of ruin.
I’m growing love and life
In the ashes of mistakes.
I’m learning to apply
The art of vase creation,
And I’m loving someone else
Cause I learn from things I break.