"Pop-Marked"...

"Pop-Marked"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Pop-marked
royal crown
half gallons
in italics

like hunter-
gatherers
off-kilterly
sipping

spouting
"kissy-
kissy"

rebellious
men
and women

as out-
of wack
figures

where insanity
never really
happens

along with
the saturating
impact
of photostats
for addicts

from mild-
mannered
cartoon
characters

all lost
in fantasy
while leaping
and prancing

relatively abstract
becalmingly active:
"nanu-nanu"--
Mork from Ork
"nano-nano"--
smaller and smaller
"nana nana" --
my granny
"na-na-na-na-na"--
you can't catch me...

"Elaborately Radiating Webs"...

"Elaborately Radiating Webs"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Elaborately
radiating webs
gaining energy

as worms
and insects
in effective
subterranean
defenses

abdominal
segments
blackish
or metallic

far-carrying
short-tailed-
hawks' calls

greater
bushbabies
like levitating
angels
in treescapes

observing
courting
whooping
cranes

dancing
displays
sentimental
favorites

critically
acclaimed
taut
adaptations...

"Habits in Habitats"...

" Habits in Habitats"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Habits in habitats
lesser black-backed
red orbital rings

hybridizing
noisier higher
ivory-white

eye arcs
shorelines
foraging styles

colonizing islands
eggs laid in scrapes
juveniles plain gray

lagoons lakes
wheezy whistly
"sweeeea"

neck mane
spinal crest
upper neck

hoof head
backslanted
more compact

inundated pastures
lush grasses
black-tipped tail

large shaggy
overlapping
rump rings

broad-leafed
growing
seasons...

"Leafing Out First"...

" Leafing Out First "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Leafing out first
in upward patterns
like "Jacks-
in-the-pulpits"
and Mayapples

buds on canopies
waiting to unfold
tightly closed

as stratification
due to shade
oaks maples
broad-leaved
species

evergreen
needled
exhibiting
tolerance
to extremes

remaining in leaf
botanical antifreeze
growing seasons
post dormancy
linked to abundancy...

"On the Occasion"...

" On the Occasion "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

On the occasion
never explicitly met
right shoe
on one side
left on the other

with po-up snapshots
of noncity mentalities
collecting royalties
with nothing left to declare
like jetlagged foreign lands

while wearing
wedding bands
on either hand
as planned

after being
secrettrd in a bag
of contraband
hoping to suit our fancy...

" Large and Strong "...

" Large and Strong "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Large and strong
foraging
habitat and voice

sharper
louder
higher

bold head pattern
no streaking on back
broad dark mask

very rare
rougher dirtier scarier
always having been there

charred wings
flickering orange
as a carry-on...

"Regaining Our Bearings"...

" Regaining Our Bearings "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Regaining
our bearings
easing the grief
of the bereaved
as out-of-season
surreal feelings peak
like grizzlies
fishing in gushing streams
while swiping
at leaping passersby
at spawning time
in craggy alpines
agile fry wriggling spryly...

"By No Means Dull"

" By No Means Dull "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

By no means dull
canopies understories shrubs
tall straight trunks

widely notched leaves
yellowish green
flowers in spring

seeds with reddish wings
assemblages as unique
abundant species

protectively covered
alpine tundra
ground-hugging tight clusters...

"Sitting at an Impasse"...

" Sitting at an Impasse "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Sitting at an impasse
with few concrete actions
sensing vulnerabilities
barely acknowledging
sadness and anger

staking candidacies
on fanning out
and cracking down
while navigating
hidden trails

defiantly stomping
in flip-flops
and turned-up collars

spying through high-
power binoculars
at oil-pump jacks

having flashbacks
taking last stands
riot gear in hand...

"With the Absence of Aggression"...

" With the Absence of Aggression "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

With the absence of aggression
top aides set addressing readiness
sure-footedness being put to rest
again and again by catching our breath
after wrestling with multi-dimensions

like bits of rain and snow late
reassigned to many cases
as the acceleration
of forming flakes
while blowing
in a rave...

"Standing Water"...

" Standing Water "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Standing water
tightly coiling
foraging
white morphs

high and clear
often near
stands of reeds
whining creaking

deep series
neatly streaked
subspecies
swimming
buoyantly...

"Hesitant Hands"...

" Hesitant Hands "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Hesitant hands
male/female
neither
goddesses
not portraits

dancing crying
playing with dogs
as life forms
modeled in soft
clay ignoring
limitations

becoming animated
in crazes
for the everyday
persisting unchanged
throughout the ages

situated
open to verification
by later populations
portrayed
in chronological
phases
upon excavation...

"Eternal Vernal Awakenings"...

" Eternal Vernal Awakenings "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Eternal vernal awakenings
"witchity-witchity-witchity"
"birdie-birdie-birdie"

days lengthening
insects keeping pace
with rapidly
emerging vegetation

vibrant aquatic life
streaming
laying eggs at night
in multiples
of four or five

beneath canopy species
buzzing wings
winning nectar lotteries...

"Run for the Shadows"...

" Run for the Shadows "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Run
for the
shadows

as a kind
of abstract
rather bad
fanged dragon
beneath
a black mask

wings writhing
in the air
on the rigorous
small scale
of pieties

like high art
versus self-
deluding
low lifes

gray
unfired clay
new moons
in place...

"Biennials/Perennials"...

" Biennials/Perennials "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Biennials/
perennials
like wild carrot
aka Queen Anne

conspicuously
flowering
alien species

as snapdragon
families velvety
leaves grey green

wooly
resembling
thistles

while
nodding
successionally
in weedy old fields

producing minute seeds
numbering in the thousands
per plant attaching to animals
and naturally catching the breeze...

"Under the Micro-Scope"...

" Under the Micro-Scope "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Under the micro-
scope lifting up
the night sky

speaking its mind
while being deified
floor to ceiling

as most revealing
cosmic
starlit could-bes

encompassing
smatterings
of normalcy

after coming
under
surveillance

declaratively
with abandon
you are there...

"Night After Night"

" Night After Night "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Night after night
highly-classified
duck blinds

eyes closed tightly
while in private
beneath light-
emitting diodes
for bull riders
in caulk stripes

like high-profile
misidentified writers
in pin stripes
all the while

with the slightest
of fairy tale vibes
as scandal-sheet headlines
in bold-faced type
realized only once upon a time...

"Dreams Unmet"...

" Dreams Unmet "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Dreams unmet
️as sacrificed
essentials
for long-shot bids
into stiff
competition

growing up
playing stick-
ball via secret
allies

creatively scripted
advertising pitches
resulting in similar
last weeks

in bodies
of ascendancy
confidentially
set adrift...

"Getting Hyped Up for Halftime"...

"Getting Hyped Up for Halftime"

by Suzán Jiván 

Mom & Mom-

Mom Suzán 

Getting hyped up

for halftime 

with deadpan

back-up plans

in the unbranded

scene of things

like wardrobes 

malfunctioning

after putting 

celebrities up front 

in a fashion build up

of perfectly

manicured stubble

for snuggling couples

in mashups of makeup

from pumped-up startups 

uncovering 

cover-ups

as crop tops

go "pop"...

"Girding the Globe"

"Girding the Globe"

by Suzán Jiván 
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

Girding the globe
with new approaches 
targeting growth 
recreating roads
both fast and slow
mostly social

as secondary goals
mapped with longitudinal
flow control 
represented by appendages only
fusing and telescoping 

elongating threadlike 
warranting 
at least brief mentions
along lateral edges
like connective dorsal vessels
of re-generative energy...

"A Different Route"

"A Dfferent Route"

by Suzán Jiván 
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

A different route
via increased
transmissibility 
of invasive species

appearing 
and re-appearing
in hemispheres

vector-borne
diseases
circulating 
silently 

followed 
by huge
outbreaks
of suffering 
tiny babies

aerial sprays
sweeping 
for containers

paddling
in canoe 
races

tiny heads
and brains
independent 
of climate change 

being found
in new places 
as smuggled 
stowaways...

"Expanding Regions"

"Expanding Regions"

by Suzán Jiván 
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

Expanding regions
well beyond the mean
cresting nurseries 

wading on long legs
necks outstretched 
bills extended

bitterns herons egrets
standing still
bill clattering hissing 

rarely visiting 
crouching in reeds
camouflaged bellies
croaking aggression...

"High in the Treetops"

"High in the Treetops"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

High in the treetops
feeding by flying
loud "wheeps!"
in canopies

nesting with snakeskin
greenish slender
descending to under stories 

foraging 
ground dwelling
minute wing spreads
depressed antennas
protruding heads...

"In Essence"

"In Essence"

by Suzán Jiván 

Mom & Mom-

Mom Suzán 

In essence

seamless 

assemblages

restrained 

comments 

altered objects

molten lead

brass replicas

technically 

impressive 

rustic wooden fences

textured realms

trending legacies

of perpetual monuments

stained barn-red...

"Not to Mention"...

" Not to Mention "

by Suzán Jiván 
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

Not to mention
where and when
one show one venue

pushed out
by rising rents
for improvisatory festivals

nuanced and clawing
opera and performance
hypothetical at the heart
from the very start

in need of strong bonds
reincarnate
while breathing in
fresh oxygen...

"Ceremonial Glow Sticks"...

" Ceremonial Glow Sticks "

by Suzán Jiván 
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

Ceremonial glow sticks
on predictive set lists
for the generally tentative

sounding limber
spouting 
"shiver me timbers"

while sifting and sorting 
like little kids
engaged in simplicity
minute-by-minute

especially in rhythm
during games
of monkey-in-the-middle 

tossing nothing-in-particular
as abstract slapstick
pouting "well, blow me down"...