by Suzán Jiván
Announced double digits
as not enough of a difference
promised at the beginning
of long-range nuclear capability
unable to reach tiny islands
of strategic importance
first visited abroad
on the dance floor
of disproportion
regularly recorded
having hit
the breaking point
planned carefully
choreographed
to horrific gasps
of untapped
massacres...
by Suzán Jiván
In a related
prize for the taking
from past decades
sometimes arranged
like tiny scrapes
reshaped
by strange matings
vaguely reciprocated
as unappraised
crushed paintings
laid out
and fanned out
underfoot...
by Suzán Jiván
Pushed to beautiful
carefully labeled
been painted gold
as incessant collaborations
reshaped by nature
nevertheless conta-indicated
as babies in paper unclaimed
by convoluted languages on the page...
by Suzán Jiván
Was the longtime
adviser
until retirement
unrecognized
and placed
inside
of the unsynchronized
and uninspired
like playwrights
subscribing
to revivals
of all kinds
as signs
of misalignment
outlined
slightly shy
of the bidding price...
by Suzán Jiván
A counterclockwise circle
traced backwards
as international affairs
dancing
on a white-painted
surface
blueprinted for exhibitions
in acquisitions of traditions
depicted like stipends
of the bitter
caught in snippets
of nothing in particular
with insignificance
reeling in...
by Suzán Jiván
A bit of a conundrum
in parts of other countries
at least not as often
as offerings
of light-weight fables
from famous places in space
as symbols of humiliation
written in blank statements
in nearly identical names
being shown in Seoul
and Moscow while on loan...
by Suzán Jiván
Slashing the tires
with limited shelf lives
residing
with the quietly chided
in the nick of time
just like minor pileups
saved and sacrificed online
as websites unwind
in anti-societal lineups
of revivals
dashed out in quick time
as mile-high strivings
behind
an across-the-board decline...
by Suzán Jiván
Boogie woogies
fitted into glass slippers
for annual galas
to the nearest thousand
like academicians expanding
into enchanted artifacts
as spymaster chairmans
of the lower classes
ruptured by the past
thought to gave been branching
into tarnished standings
on the Welcome Wagon...
by Suzán Jiván
Choreographed mayhem
whose hair hangs
in front of a face
with an ace
up like bad blood
come to contend
with upended
unessentials
of public health
neither experimental
nor well-entrenched
in epidemics
loosely patched
together as jaggedly
chattery passages...
by Suzán Jiván
I
Gone unexplored
with no backstory
and more disappointment
after taunting a fallen angel
II
Unmistakably excruciating
wearing theater makeup
hiding a blank face
after a gang rape
III
In panicky pain staking no claim
being blown away with the clang
of cinematic cameras
cast as blasting caps...
by Suzán Jiván
Tools for navigating
narrow world-class
overviews
firmly imprinted
as sculptures
and figures
like first editions
on the endangered list
along with leaky distributors
darting out from behind
abandoned parked cars
with the history of art
precisely depicted
in parallel parks...
by Suzán Jiván
I
Declarer
diagrammed
contract
guessed
originality
II
Three spades
club eight
inquiry-based
rebid game
III
Single spade
dummy club
diamond ace
ruffed a club
IV
Telltale hesitation
in obvious ways
like featured flamencos
girded by enclaves
as spontaneous interplays...
by Suzán Jiván
Translucent dots
most popular
blazing star
salt marsh
flat-topped
thickets
swamp
bitter tonic
anise scent
toothed segment
reddish stem
flower head
biennial rosettes
peppery perennial
fleshy berries
silky seeds
spread freely
evergreen...
by Suzán Jiván
Simply unworkable
bristling with initiatives
hand-written as scribbles
over tea in the kitchen
with lawyers and criminals
sipping tough new limits
steeped in each
of the proceedings
in weak and troubling tiers
after reeling back the years
as simple forms
with troubling flaws
still tripping
from kicked-up dust...
by Suzán Jiván
for Anne-Adele Wight
Clarifying the underlying
as alarmingly high
like a small child crying
in an unlikely
and increasingly
unreliant fine print
written with brittle
fingertips last minute
triggering a spin-
doctor's anomaly
with hard-bitten aplomb
wearing a leopard leotard
toggling along heartily
with jarringly dizzying upswings
while swizzling tonics bitterly...
by Suzán Jiván
for Linda Erlich, PhD
Come to pass
dating back
to an extravagant
pageant
happily ever after
after
stepping back
as a gladiator
wearing sandals
spun into the glass
of a frontman
spectacled
with well-
ventured
aesthetic
events...
by Suzán Jiván
The seduction of nonexistence
cannot accommodate life's demands
after failing as way too antsy
in the widening gap
between the aristocratic
and the campily kitschy
fueled by flinty layers
of updated dual domains...
by Suzán Jiván
Landscape with cattle and peasants
remembering to express one's self
look closely, use pencil only
sketch trees in relation to people
especially like tiny leaves
emerging to honor the queen
with Moorish chiefs
sipping Japanese tea
can-canning in gay Pari
as dragons hide
inside turquoise designs
built in the French countryside
time-traveling by night
beneath starry starry skies...
