" Sticks "...

" Sticks "

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán
In Honor of Florence Marie
In Memory of Anton James

Sticks as flimsy twigs seen at the cusp of spring
true-blue pigments on the edge of extinction
"It's here! You can smell it!" as primary suspects
for resurrection once and again without question

during "de-extinctification" efforts
far from new developments
passenger pigeons wooly mammoths
institutional grants for lost habitats

driven by dearths of data and not-so-empty nests
for fully fledged penguins gone hunting for themselves
in worldwide networks as viruses return and diseases emerge
like shorebirds with distinctive shrieks sequencing species
via whistling underwings and distinctive orbital rings

ducks and geese paddling quickly across shallow ponds
towards Himalayan snowcocks large and stocky
low clucking shrill cackling jungle fowl spectacular marsh
harriers fore-dawn bat hawks stilled waters herons stalking

gliding soaring pulling it off out walking
corny side burns being shaved off in dance halls pizzazz un-ignored
revisiting retooling rebooted art schools while making silent movies
for super-nerdy wasteland futures like murky stews in cartoons
with cell phones set on "mute" for super-human classical music
hectoring brass whistles and whip cracks as savvy trappings
for gaudy and grand skeletons prancing harp and piano thinning out...

" Hoping "

" Hoping "

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán 

Hoping to catch the red eye among advisers

where loyalty precedes experience 

by administering officials of a high populace

while endangering autonomy

via social media's angry masses

repudiating research practices

for ghost-written weed killers

helping to unwittingly

finish final films winking

over mysterious disappearances

asking, "Is it really any of our business?"

reading ravishingly

gilded nonfiction

as exchanged endearments

whispering anonymously

over hot beef and barley

sipping corn liquor

smoking brisket

offering free recipe tips

with and without seaweed

boiled whitefish in sanctuary cities 

tracking civilian atrocities

questioning Roundup's safety

" Who's podcast is this anyway?!"

" Give me strength! " stamping flamencos 

lacy and long trained on stage wizened with age

and violent gesticulations youth meets sage

right out of the gate right away

in rigorous yet gracious adaptations

when dread is pervasively beautiful and devastating

as actual places seen under the table wasting away

in sharp focus examining grasping talons of raptors 

holistic immaculate tableaux sharp shouldered getting stoned

long foretold like kept composure from the days of olde...

" Closed Off "...

" Closed Off "

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán 

Closed off at sold-out performances of requiem choruses

having thrown down the gauntlet into disputed territory

all the more raw sneaking beneath bed sheets

crimson rashes flaring experiencing persistent badgering

being denied access beasts left intact wreaking havoc

slithering and gathering swatting and scattering

for larger forebears sadly seen as our far-better halfs

ultimately abandoned during aftermaths

as hashtags gone mad searching for answers

still grinning at prospects of the optimists

talking and laughing sitting on stairs 

during writing classes though not exactly

standing out peeking out at name tags

being scanned as student badges

handing stories back and forth over healthy snacks 

looking like leading characters 

having coined reality via quantum mechanics

as seemingly bizarre facts waving white flags

from here to there over blocks of unexplanatory matters

passed hand-over-hand through springtime air

taking chances bouncing balls of rubber bands 

over winding grassy paths ringed by silver-leafed saplings

with crypts built into the background dedicated to gratitude

and human frailty feigning heroic acts secularly encountering

coronets on carriages traveling to the hereafter 

via postcards and stamps stressing symbolic aspects

meekly and sadly unimaginable inexhaustible galleries

gasp upon gasp immortal master Townsend's Solitaires

with exposed tails across mountain grasslands

being widely scattered as harsh "chiks" 'n' "chaks"

of short dry chatter paler drabber brown thrashers

brushy habitats russet backed fieldfares 

piping nightingales pipits wagtails flashing wing patches 

black caps sharp rattles high chaparrals 

on the spot and on the fly billowy instincts single-stringed

transformed tragedies golden-haired wailing now declared

via conversational manners midway through tasks

fanciful and abstract from distant galaxies of fire-branded tales

kind of splashy only feebly critiqued like indie pop medleys 

brief and catchy unabashedly upbeat provocative whimsy 

insistent riffs culled as bits of atmospheric overtricks...

" Measuring Up " ...

" Measuring Up "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom &Mom-
Mom Suzán

Measuring up as a such-and-such
while keeping in touch no matter what
" Did you get the memo? "
like a slightly apologetic " in-betweenie "
missing link pointing out paucity
patchy and incomplete

exhibiting weaknesses
plucking out theories
deemed big possibilities
using clawed fore-limbs
evolving into wings
considered to be a big feat

venomously non-lethal
as the oddest thing
getting ready to sing
being kept in stitches
still in transition
written in Greek
rather than Latin

earthbound
underground
safe-and-sound
sweet 'n' fatty
queens of ants

wild forests grasslands
intensely managed farmland
family trees forming canopies
hundreds and thousands of fields
and pastures leaves termites and beetles

entomology small crawly things
unusual peculiarities biting stinging
vectors of diseases beeswax silk and shellac
valuable scavengers beautiful animals

scarab-backed reproductive capacity
introductory chapters how-to structured habits
flattened laterally sucking mouths
widening thoraxes forked tails wings overlapping...

" Against " by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

" Against " by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

Against a wary FED full speed ahead yet tapping the breaks
while raising benchmark rates but expected to remain at 1%
being pre-empted by reigned-in investments not bargaining on heroine
posting new threats not knowing what the hell comes next
in the "Age of a Television President" impugning predecessors

as euphemisms for "poisoning the waters" as matters of course
tweeting scandalous tales of supposed facts both on purpose
and by accident needing to adapt like "Dirty Rats"
as scavenger's survival tactics after being hacked for bounty
via wiretapping reality series streaming freely
like data-driven honey traps and algorithmic interactions
brandishing unwanted facts and taking up the slack
during cool downs having been snagged by storage clouds

roused like slumbering animals lashing out
heating up buzzer-beating overall seeds
of selection committees week-by-week
leaching toxicity helped by lobbying
for public parks garnering "harmory"
extensively rethinked as states of emergency

re-emerging into safe spaces of green
for must-see genus and species
planting both feet with room to breathe
a la ubiquitous Plan Bs
surviving almost anything
with tricks up our sleeves
as anything-but-routine
like entire phylums of creatures
bafflingly transitioning
genuinely eery and all-too-real...

" Endlessly"

" Endlessly "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Endlessly thrilling
compulsively readable
not weirder
than we imagine
as mammalians

like "Winnie-the-Pooh Bears"
and gelatinous zooplankton
half-and-halfers flying flashers
for mud dragons creeping as unclad snails

with the stillness of salmon
not alone on our own planet
living in the follicles of eyelashes
as myths to carry for new-fangled
animals summarized as "perhaps-
traveling-antics" exotic and passionate
wham-bammers eating light snacks afterwards

due to paradoxical
circumstances
of simple facts
made available
from "somewheres else's
of not exactly alphabets"

for unconventional methods
left unmentioned
but perfectly effective
as unsharable advantages

kept at hand even long after
lackings in understanding
from ancestors to forebears
divided neatly in two halves

sometimes baffling
like unawareness
while making eye contact
deemed body language
with strong accents...

" Conjuring "...

" Conjuring "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Conjuring monsters
for pale blondes
met head on by jagged
glistening shards
cast solemnly

metal carts of props
house lights on
shimmering scarves
exhumed plots
prominently
turbocharged
human dolls

gone shopping
much pondering
while administering
arsenic via optometry
spectacles being
bequeathed
eyes weakening
hinting at poisoning

like quantum leaps
into bittersweet
biographical history
split over seasons
modalities of harmonies
soft to the skin
suddenly misfitting
monologue-filled
plaintive singing
turning pensive and fidgety

whatever mockeries
are being watched
closely based on novels
upon being rushed to hospitals
in a heroine's operatic synopsis
deemed unstoppable
right from the start
stomachs tied in knots...