Scoured by Sand

" Scoured by Sand "

by Suzán Jiván

for Thom Donovan

Scoured by sand
as sea glass
consigned
to waves
over decades
signal light
taillight twilight...

As Is The Case

" As Is The Case "

by Suzán Jiván

for Anne Waldman

As is the case
on the way
to a major
portrayal
of a native
close shave
with volume
and length...

Probably None

" Probably None "

by Suzán Jiván

Probably none
colored dusting
blunter...

Barely Crossing

" Barely Crossing "

by Suzán Jiván

Barely crossing
almost never
seen singly
spike billed
hoarse raspy
contrasting,
"zheek"
or "wink"
gloss on wings...

Slightly Greenish

" Slightly Greenish "

by Suzán Jiván

Slightly greenish
lacking pink
dusky below
submarginal rows
hosts are willows...

Moon-seeded Wings Fluttering

" Moon-seeded Wings Fluttering "

by Suzán Jiván

for CA Conrad

Orange marks gold bumps
summits meadows
moon-seeded wings fluttering...

Fresh Attention

" Fresh Attention "

by Suzán Jiván

for Larry Robin
@ Moonstone
Art Center

Scented
orange-red
clinging
to bare stems
yellow berries
fresh attention...

Unmistakably Straight-laced

" Unmistakably Straight-laced "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Patchy and tremulous wavering
midrange like nicknames
on stationery emblazoned
as surnames of the flirtatious

II

Receiving standing ovations
precipitated by the highly praised
as unmistakably straight-laced
hobbled offstage...

Revisited Again and Again

" Revisited Again and Again "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Seemingly blithe
Jiminy Cricket-like
with a diva of a wife
as flash and stridency

II

Revisited again and again
like chilling aspects
memorably unsettled
pushed over the edge
where only the fog could tell...

Attitudinizing Rack and Ruin

" Attitudinizing Rack and Ruin "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Performing
nearby
ticket buying
on opening night

II

Distant and slight
aisles lined
with mistaken
identities

III

Past their prime
attitudinizing
rack and ruin
in a new musical...

Self-Propelled Unarresting Webs

" Self-Propelled Unarresting Webs "

by Suzán Jiván

Time
traveling
revamped
as fancy
footwork
into a multi-
platinum
past
of con-
temporary
adages
wrestling
merrily
with self-
propelled
unarresting
webs over-
whelmingly
backed
as scrappy
factions
of one-
time
dancers
in pod-
casts
with
graphic
detail...

Opening Low

" Opening Low "

by Suzán Jiván

This hinge moment
narrowly cogent
opening low
with three
no-trump
from the dummy
signaling for clubs
diamonds doubled
heart ruff
down one
runner up...

Rusty Orange Hollow Carcass

" Rusty Orange Hollow Carcass "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Scarce
and
local
little
time
often
soaring
wings
broad

II

Short
tail
long
note
near
nest
"yelp,
yelp,
yelp"

III

Shaped
like
a
hawk
feeds
like
a
scavenger
on
road-
killed
animals

IV

Black
crest
black
belly
pale
areas
scaling
back

V

GatherIng
mottling
weak
harsh
marmots

VI

Held
horizontal
rusty
orange
hollow
carcass...

Hump-Backed Squat

" Hump-Backed Squat "

by Suzán Jiván

I

From ground
level
to the canopy
mimicking
the appearance
of bark

II

Hump-backed squat
pests of crops
foamy toxic
ground-hopping
legs splayed
eggs laid...

Slate

" Slate "

by Suzán Jiván

Choke-
berry
dog
bane
soot-
gray
to
slate
grey-
green
egg...

Spotted Below

" Spotted Below "

by Suzán Jiván

Unknown host
spotted below
ponderosa
pine zones
stick close...

Sharply Differing

" Sharply Differing "

by Suzán Jiván

Often yellow or checkered
in a fan frenzy ran away to wed
with drive and intensity

Like a guise of attendees
often wielding sharply differing
inherent risks in the millions...

Alternating with Anguish

" Alternating with Anguish "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Scarcely present
as incidental
snatches of texts
like double-barreled
facets of infatuation

II

With cancelation dates
as strains of ballet
held as almost sacred
alternating with anguish
sitting for a painting...

Dingy Ivory Slight Triangle

" Dingy Ivory Slight Triangle "

by Suzán Jiván

Lantana bottomland vaguely patterned
blurry bands at random more lilac
tailless subsequent clustering
intermingling moister regions
lightly greenish underneath
dingy ivory slight triangle...

Rootlet Cobweb

" Rootlet Cobweb "

by Suzán Jiván

Flower bed
rootlet cobweb
deep nest
forest ledge
shaded end...

Extremely Polygynous

" Extremely Polygynous "

by Suzân Jiván

I

Extremely polygynous
stiffening spindles
emphasizing thick
pink-tinged whitish lips

II

Batted with black
non-retractile tales
of savannas
and farmlands

III

Bourne hereafter
seasonally elsewhere
as arboreal carnivores'
retractile claws...

In Breeding

" In Breeding "

by Suzán Jiván

Little grebe
in breeding
yellow gape
pale
brown face
soft rushes
weeds algae
on hatching
riding on back...

Bathed in Sunbeams

" Bathed in Sunbeams "

by Suzán Jiván

Aquamarine
hairstreaks
forest clearings
exceedingly green
overwintering
inconspicuously
in a mottled
chrysalis
as a marginal
part of wandering
possibly in litter
similar but duller
and more abundant
than buds clinging
to low leaves
bathed in sunbeams
as sibling species...

Subliminally Undermining

" Subliminally Undermining "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Locked in a dangerous
brinkmanship shifting
from trying to reconcile
to sabotage
once seen as unthinkable

II

Cutting links to lineages
by subliminally undermining
sled-dog drivers
much in the minds
of mushers lapping up the hunted...

A Bird's Beak Preening Green

" A Bird's Beak Preening Green "

by Suzán Jiván

Recurring themes
in depictions of deities
spelled out in the bluish pinks
of a bird's beak preening green
pale and sandy basins spotted grey...

In a Showcase

" In a Showcase "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Fashion savvy full length
moved away concentrating
greatly acclaimed

II

Recounting staccato
as unorthodoxy
with banality

III

Defined by an embrace
in a showcase
sit, stay

Harbinger of the Fashion Conscious

" Harbinger of the Fashion Conscious "

by Suzán Jiván

The changes
are tectonic like a mélanged
harbinger of the fashion conscious
seen as a garnered phenomenon...

Perfectly Conical

" Perfectly Conical "

by Suzán Jiván

A hilly lot
as a garden
for rootstock
from a rooftop
with raindrops
collected
at the car park
accenting
a small plot
as a good spot
for a dwarf conifer
perfectly conical
no more
than a foot tall
along a matted
walk of glossy
mountain laurel...

Recently Began

" Recently Began "

by Suzán Jiván

Recently began
hard and fast ill-prepared
for a ghost bramble as an example
of past razzle-dazzle tamped
by ectoplasmic cares...

Common and Widespread

" Common and Widespread "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Common and widespread
sky-blue violet
grey

II

Laying
eggs
prominent
reddish
orange

III

Showy
host
oaks
mistle-
toe
coast
to
coast

IV

Thorn-
scrub
paw-
paw
far
north
white
bordered...

Toggling Among Dozens

" Toggling Among Dozens "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Doubly anomalous
clarity and security
toggling among dozens

II

Feeling hamstrung
by a drill instructor
offering blunt shrugs

III

Meant to be funny
offering up a chuckle
that self destructs...

The Universal Question

" The Universal Question "

by Suzán Jiván

Wounded and wounding
now tethered to a moral tale
as troubles descend rimless
with the universal question,
" Can you retool yourself? " ...

Long and Short

" Long and Short "

by Suzán Jiván

Long and short
white bands
raised or lowered
over nape
solitary bars and spots
low-pitched, " hoop-hoop "
wide pied wings
wandering...

Few Others Reach

" Few Others Reach "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Few others reach
a strained bonhomie
as one more believer
observed secretly

II

Looking at the real thing
in keeping with the eerie
screeched with cheers
and a sinking feeling...

Mild Elsewhere

" Mild Elsewhere "

by Suzán Jiván

Mild elsewhere
totally unaware
out of nowhere
seemingly rare
built to withstand
a Tour de France
proceeding with plans
as the chief of staff
in charge or variables
reinforced by free-for-alls
in free fall for the so-called
swaying in a quake...

Lit by Gossipy Wit

" Lit by Gossipy Wit "

by Suzán Jiván

Lit by gossipy wit
with drifting type
in a homesick
delivery implicatively
rubbed and scrubbed
as an affirmative ayuh
after a fifth of fünf...

Quickened by the Incongruous

" Quickened by the Incongruous "

by Suzán Jiván

Blacklisted with onyx
in monoclinic
conchoidal carvings
under priests' garments
as the Genesis of Heaven
like a Black Panther firebrand
on a hopscotched diagram
quickened by the incongruous
ideologues of standup comedy
waffling with corsets and garters...

Energizing Tension

" Energizing Tension "

by Suzán Jiván

Energizing tension
without comprehension
like highly compressed
flowerheads as bookends...

Easily Reared

" Easily Reared "

by Suzán Jiván

Performed on YouTube

Easily reared
on bramble leaves
as slender species
with narrow wings
and highly convincing
bigger hind wings
shedding legs
if seized belonging
to a single genus
with front feet
against silk sheets
from other colonies
stiffened by detritus
as symbiotic
substances pumped
into the young
suitably intrusive
as pre-chewed food
with eggs glued
to the roof
tunneling through
into the groups'
droppings
like diffusible
nutrients...

Objects Between the Strings

" Objects Between the Strings "

by Suzán Jiván

Objects between the strings
remaining cheerful and unbothered
by an Alice-in-Wonderland logic
consorting with streetwalkers
cultivating randomness and chance
with a much-liked man
mercifully attacking avarice
as satire in remarriage
with a phalanx
of futuristic paintings
favoring their own names
as, "Salome"...

With a Highly Compressed Sense

" With a Highly Compressed Sense "

by Suzán Jiván

With a highly compressed sense
for the first time
anyone can remember
as might be expected
on wall texts
spanning intensities
with the niceties
of fleur de lis
and the amenities
of artists' colonies
in wheat-strewn topographies...

Teeming with Detail

" Teeming with Detail "

by Suzán Jiván

Teeming with detail
what could be scarier
than pitchforks in hand
tossing off the rip-snortingly
revelatory as fidgety
renderings championing
bimorphic forms unleashing
splayed fingerings
of personal brandings
in small bands
copying the masters
with overlapping gadgetry
as monochromatic adages
of amusing topicality
disproportionately
taut and haughty
but ultimately
poignant over all
like a dappled lawn...

As a Visitor

" As a Visitor "

by Suzán Jiván

Performed on YouTube

As a visitor
nesting
on a ledge
next
to a mining
bee buzzing
while crickets
roll leaves
into tropical regions
with toughened forewings
where metamorphosis
is incomplete needlelike
in conspicuous cylinders
laid singly or in masses
folded flat in damp plants
along green grasslands...

Tucked Away

" Tucked Away "

by Suzán Jiván

Performed on YouTube

I

Tucked away long before
free streaming folklore
without a cause

II

As the all-important
excellently performed
in leotards and shorts

III

With male-female support
reinforced as scarcely the point
entangled with something more

IV

A genial grin put at risk
by bestowing a kiss
without conscience

V

On a lutelike kora
tinged with a fiddle
and a pianist's plink

VI

In full-length mink
while pimping
with the wee

VII

Perversity of underpinned
forgiveness hidden
beneath a bearded chin...

Demonically Plotting

" Demonically Plotting "

by Suzán Jiván

Performed on YouTube

Facing
an under-
handed
back-
stabbing
out-
of-
balance
lack
of caring
as
do no harm
as a toxic-
ally mis-
ogynist
gyn-
ecological
on-
cologist
replete
with physic-
i-
anal-
ly
prescribed
repugnant
venoms
and repellents
spirited away
as noxiously
obnoxious
prodigies
demonically plotting
a slow-burning drama
as an act of concision
like surgery with no frills
promising the quick
but sloppy robotic
shots of vodka
along with the generic
sequencing
of a girl's pinky
Unleashing archaic
genes as offspring
likely vanishing
clearly gasping
as a polecat packing
an anoxic stink
spraying and gagging
after an anal scent gland...