Kimmy Alan
by Kim Alan Solem
I’m Kimmy Alan
Korean War Legacy
Don’t mistake me for a lady
Because I’m a man
Kim Alan Solem
To be honest and precise
And be legally concise
Kimmy is for this poem
An artistic Pseudonym
And so I don’t get confused
Cause that’s who I am
Everybody calls me Kimmy Alan
Why, I’ll never understand
I don’t look like a Kimmy
More like an Alan
You can just call me
Mr. Kimmy Alan
PHOTOGRAPH: Young Kimmy Alan.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kim Alan Solem is in many respects the anti-poet, both in life and in art. He grew up in rural Wisconsin near its borderline with Minnesota. Indeed, his name is a legacy of the Korean War, during which time he was conceived. Working nearly his whole adult life in a steel mill, his life made a dramatic turn when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that had formed in a tumor surrounding his heart. Much of his poetry is inspired by that experience, but not just the pain and struggle of battling cancer, but the heart in itself, a wonderful God-made device that is the battery of the soul. Since going into remission, Kimmy spends his time reading and writing poetry. And yes! Everyone who knows him calls him either Kimmy or Kimmy Alan.
Silver Birch Press 