Alan Olee Book Report

I Bought a Knife

I had a bad day
One of the worst in my life,
To bring myself up
I bought me a knife.

Girls with the blues
Shop for glasses and snacks
Or maybe a pair
Of shoes or two.

But I want something
Hard, fast, heavy in hand
Shiny, smooth, well balanced too,
A shape to delight any eye.

I picked out a beaut
The knife’s weight was like velvet
In my hand – what a luxury to
Hold such a sound worthy thing.

Up went the blade dropped
Down on an onion end
It fell through herb like
Falling through air straight down.

Snat! It rapped the board stood
Still and true sliced like a
Dead-blow hammer cut straight
Edge hewed – I like this toy I do!

I cut carrots paper-thin
Leaf spinach even sliced single pass
No time flat dinner was ready
A big salad bowl of vegetable confetti!

Gregory Olsen

This is a poem I wrote a couple of years ago as an experiment in changing mood within a short poem – the opening seems to suggest something mildly sinister only to turn into a bowl of salad at the end.  For some reason or another, I get a fair amount of flak for writing in a playful manner like this… But for whatever reason, I often see fun and playfulness in art and poetry; even serious works have their playful moments.