by Suzán Jiván
after Nina Simone
Stylistic contradictions
between the vivid
and the obvious
as aimless shallowness
in metal beds of emptiness
becoming gawky and frumpy
again against the next
leering gentleman
and rejection
with the need to sing
as melodic legato
in isolated bravado
shooed by boos...
by Suzán Jiván
Letters so eloquent
one after another
amid dozens spun
twisted into gossip
by manic cocks
like captious critics
in a promiscuous tale spin...
by Suzán Jiván
Earliest manuscripts
on nebulous slips
subsisting
as transcriptions
on perpetual winds
like origins of history
bound by spirits
mirrored
in the celestial rim
with deep significance
still in its infancy
imprinted in scripture
worshipped as vision
within rituals
of mortal petition...
by Suzán Jiván
Wall of the hall
like liturgical calls
adroit as offerings
before the dawn
of three or four
grotto-sponsoring altars
while pacing the void
as a strong point
or vast resource
for the unanswerable
drafted as standard
along with a longing for support
found in songs with nothing more
than stories morphing
into mortar for all...
by Suzán Jiván
after Psalms 74, 75 & 76
Smoke against the sheep
purchased of old
above reproach
under the soul
of tumult
like the remainder
of constraint
as complacency...
by Suzán Jiván
The most storied
awestruck
record numbers
in totally unique
speakeasies
intermingling
missing ingredients
as seamlessly
as Y-peelers
reminding you why
silence is sacrificed
like handheld dive lights
breaching the divide...
by Suzán Jiván
I
Lizard beetles
stem-boring larvae
shining blue-black
considerable damage
common on flowers
with tips of abdomens
II
Barely visible
in retractile cavities
as roots of agaves
decayed
while hibernating
on mites
like pleasing fungi...
by Suzán Jiván
for Anne-Adele Wight
Passing as shamrocks
when planted in pastures
with prostrate plants
becoming papery with age
like parting leaves rising
in rotation pinnately escaping
from cultivation into an ovary base
alternately chambered
with Eurasian stamens as shamans...
by Suzán Jiván
I
Somewhat zigzagged
often angled scales
as substandard classes
with branded branches
II
Of older bark
end buds true
end buds false
fruited usually
III
Broken twigs sour odor
hairy stalk corky wing
centered directly...
by Suzán Jiván
The first desire
voluntary
and involuntary
as a genesis
of self-expression
to varying effect
as antithetical epics
undoubtedly intended
to form themselves
nourished by intellect
marvelously rendered
with dramatic intensity
towards the monumental
as surfaces of flesh
postulating the presence
of divine intervention
one cannot help...
by Suzán Jiván
for Debrah Morkun
Like kinship
underlined in mime
with watery eyes
welled from writing
while aspiring
to climb with rhyme...
by Suzán Jiván
Comes to contemporary
updated debates stipulated
and fully acclaimed as slang
becoming truncated
like deadpan exchanges
while keeping the faith
in the deeper layers
of a simulated sex change
becoming ultimately debased
by a twangily Appalachian application...
by Suzán Jiván
Change is tricky
and can quickly
become
as scary
as a flash
player
with graphic
add-ins
in gutsy hues
like a slew
of Givenchy shoes
with pre-approved
boots as a ruse...
by Suzán Jiván
Tuberous roots
scurrilously unfurling
into violet purples
of flagrantly rank
late grotesque shapes...
by Suzán Jiván
for CA Conrad,
author: " A Beautiful
Marsupial Afternoon"...
Often seen
swimming
in midwinter
past cattails
lined
with grasses
small snails...
by Suzán Jiván
Open only in the sun
unlike most worts
appearing crinkly
in the eve...
by Suzán Jiván
A striking
ground cover
yellow pea
narrow leaves
dry seeds...
by Suzán Jiván
for Ms Foo, Esq.
Where they still
similar will
liquid, "trill"...
by Suzán Jiván
for The Navajo Nation
Mournful whistle
d
r
o
p
p
i
n
g
in the middle
gray in winter...
by Suzán Jiván
for Anne-Adele Wight
Warning
twisting
one night
as queen
of the breeze
buster victor
one wish
actually
imminent
on two minutes
point counterpoint
hyped hip-hopper...
by Suzán Jiván
Sprinkles o' plenty
onto wall texts
pouring resources
into Swords, Staves
Cups 'n' Coins
suited for all four
professing
to feeling buried
in mystical splendor
numbering
from ace to ten
with the faces of many...
by Suzán Jiván
for Uncaring Health Care
A lip-smacking number
for everyone
sucking their thumbs
stripped down
head to breast
distended with dissent...
by Suzán Jiván
Tide together
all along
a short shore
with trace arcs
all over the ocean
floor as coordinates...
