Two Poems
Steven Kent

On Mistakenly Assuming That All Green Teas Are Caffeine-free

At half-past ten

I wondered when

I’d sleep again.

At midnight: wired,

My senses fired

(But still not tired).

Believe you me,

Not much to see

At half-past three.

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Mistakes (I’ve Made a Few)

Mistakes I make are mine alone;

I rarely share the blame,

And one rule I have set in stone:

No two shall be the same.

New fumbles cause me little strife;

I find them every day.

(Variety’s the spice of life,

Or so I’ve heard folk say.)

I stumble, bumble on, my friend,

Haphazardly a mess,

And will these errors ever end?

I dare not try to guess.

My catechism’s ended--go

Now, watch and stay awake.

Repeat a blunder? Heavens, no;

There’s many more to make!

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Steven’s notes: “‘On Mistakenly Assuming’ is based on the real-life experience of my friend Rick Jackson (RIP), a brilliant pianist who arrived late in the day on his first tour of Japan and thought that the tea in question would relax him for a good night’s sleep. Not so much, as it turned out. This poem recently appeared in Lighten Up Online. ‘Mistakes,’ which was originally published in Pulsebeat Poetry Journal, reflects our human need for variety: Why fall back on an old error when there are so many yet to discover?“

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Steven Kent is the poetic alter ego of writer and musician Kent Burnside (www.kentburnside.com). His work appears in 251, Asses of Parnassus, The Dirigible Balloon, Light, Lighten Up Online, The Lyric, New Verse News, The Orchards Poetry Journal, Philosophy Now, The Pierian, Pulsebeat Poetry Journal, The Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal Poetry, Snakeskin, and Well Read. His collections I Tried (And Other Poems, Too) (2023) and Home at Last (2025) are published by Kelsay Books.

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Two Poems Steven Kent

Two Poems
Steven Kent