"Passed Around"...

" Passed Around "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Passed around
in a trembling finale
at times vanishing
too busy dancing

tap tap tapping
idiosyncratically
as a mash up
of smatterings

like glam givebacks
wearing black wig hats
heads arching back
enigmatically

outlasting what to do
and how to react
soothing musical tributes...

"Driving a Hard Bargain"...

" Driving a Hard Bargain "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Driving a hard bargain
embodying awkward shards
in a thick blue fog

spotlit by monologues
into the darkness of scholars
skipping hardheartedness

listening with tenderness
to the utterly bleak
while unstintingly
offering mercy
to the skittishly
bickering

with incongruously
numbing riffs
as an offering
of healing
rhythms

performed
by ambiguous
figures weighing in
with jazz-tinged
veiled instruments...

"Squabbling Sirens"...

" Squabbling Sirens "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Squabbling sirens
choral writing
after the lightings
of secret fires
like warning signs
for the faint-of-heart
mistakingly put off-par

three-penny operas
coming out of the closet
"zorse" or "zonkey"
less-than-obviously
unforgotten
as strutting peacocks
while splaying an add-on
coup de grâce...

"Adding Sizzle"...

" Adding Sizzle "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Adding
sizzle
beneath
a peace-
sign halo
that can be
downloaded
for free
like an
under-
reported
moral
victory
offering
kisses
with black
lipstick
without
permission
slips
brimming
with
unresolved
conflict...

"As Yet to Be Discovered"...

" As Yet to Be Discovered "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

As
yet
to
be
discovered

slithering
writhing
and
dancing

blurring
boundaries
century-
spanning
happiness
and
disaster

wallowing
with
shape-
shifting
pom-
poms
of
stark
punk
gods

before
dropping
between
a
hit
and
a
flop

as
hard-
to-
penetrate
show-
stoppers

ceding
ground
in
jewel-
toned
gowns

wrapped
in
savvy...

"Holding Nothing Back"...

" Holding Nothing Back "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Holding nothing back
as the relatively affable
taking turns toward the acid
before and after centrality

resisting adjectives
while barking madly
like iconoclastic
perception scramblings

inflammatory
new-fangled
olden standards
told in fragments
via time-lapses
of tiny cameras

gone prancing
donning fake hair
and laughing
climactically...

"A Balancing Act"...

" A Balancing Act "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A balancing act
adapting
hand-over-hand
rather than
underhanded
after a fashion

wallowing up
to the gunwales
drawing blank stares
as third-class
mopping up of hair

imperiously
demanding
egg-yellow vans
surrounded
by empty bags
and the grimy
hands of famine
running scared
driven by passion...

"Life Is Staged"...

" Life Is Staged "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Life is staged
as silence-and-strife
at the nearby

while living
and writing
entirely outside
of surprise

like a tiny bit
of falling off
of a cliff

both grand
and finitely
off-kilter

yet strangely
uplifting
take your pick...

"Front Burners"...

" Front Burners "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Front burners
like tiny life preservers
of summery sweetness

don't tempt me
sun-ripened
overnight

otherwise
fearful
of kneading

physically taxing
heavy-handed
mineralities

higher acid
lower tannins
setting standards

upscale
keenly balanced
sweet-and-sour...

"A Lighter Touch"...

" A Lighter Touch "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A lighter touch
of the real stuff
like legendary
suburban reds

savorily sweet
sipped
in campaign
season

locally raised
taking hold of bold
crossovers
from high overhead

famously uncelebrated
on combo plates
of unusual flavors
like ridiculously
impressive créme brûlée

served up
at room temperature
with jellied centers
re-heated as necessary...

"Slangy Rebuttals"...

" Slangy Rebuttals "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Slangy rebuttals
previously unpublished
as tennis-ball fuzz
thank you very much
for coming under
aesthetic umbrellas
admittedly not quite
quickly enough

with apprehension
like an almost
inevitable
water-color ruff
in tidy setups
for the bluff
and gruff
undercuttedly
dangerous
like stiffened lungs

pumping
under rhythms
of breathing
during encyclopedic
see and seeks
offering humongous
hugs plus
unlimited lipstick kisses...

"Touchingly"...

" Touchingly "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Touchingly released
becoming
more-and-more
enormous
in the mourning

as an edgy
performance
never boring
sworn to joy

decorated
with chains
like a strapless
mermaid

sheer bodices
layered
finding a way
well-played...

" In Review "...

" In Review "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

In review
I have to tell you
with mild suspense
in a trim blue dress

like real-life events
of sculptural confection
as travel ephemera
in dreamy silhouettes

largely conceptual
exaggerated well
toes dangling
in the deep end

with little or no
tweaking needed
regarding meaning...

"Scraps Accruing"...

" Scraps Accruing"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Scraps accruing
becoming
hard to discern

like bullets
in clips
along with
hair triggers

after falling quickly
while mimicking
sophisticated
omniscience

supreme and magnificent
families' prior existences
feeling terribly distant

marked indelibly
by awkwardly
unexpected
lean experiments

resulting
in unbecomingly
stumbling
down the stretch...

"Modernity Zigzags"...

" Modernity Zigzags "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Modernity zigzags strengthening abs downloading apps
onto a pad in good standing

as this-and-that tablet matters
overlappingly pragmatic
coming with practice

psychosocial dynamics
engrossingly rolling over
like well-honed touchstones

coming closer
and closer
all aglow...

"Holistically Refocusing"...

" Holistically Refocusing "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Holistically
refocusing
on vital doses
of well-stoked-
far-from-home-
on-the-road-
cocksure macho

steering clear
of decrepit
penalty boxes

having once
sheltered
along
the tenuous
edges
of nothingness

getting restarted
at the end
with playful attempts
at youthful impetuousness

affably expressed
as crackling accents
of charismatic pizazz...

"Drawing on Experience"...

" Drawing on Experience "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Drawing
on experience
in pencil-thin-
itsy-bitsy bits
of inevitability
via considerably
proliferating flicks

being expressed
tongue-in-cheek
while simultaneously
gnashing teeth
throughout award seasons
of pictures on screens

as sequels to sequels
over years and years
like stand-ins
in invisible inks
for life's mysteries
subsequently
re-appearing
skin-deep...

"Their Heads Rested"...

" Their Heads Rested "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Their heads rested
on season-ending
posted selfies

imperious footsteps
in arcade games
of beaming
gold-painted faces
on a rampage

cheeky yet sincere
imbibing
in mirrored images

formal mourning
burbling water
the core of peace

grievous sphinxes
staring
against papyrus
screens...

"Peppering the Calendar"...

" Peppering the Calendar "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Peppering the calendar
with withering put-downs
from both old and new values

like multidimensional banter
debated to fare-the-well
starting up again
as frenemies

from salty series
for ruefully hilarious bon amis
in memoiristic stories
of bittersweet intimacy
for peevish buddy-buddies

indiscriminately
splitting
the differences
all in a pinch...

"Under the Care"...

" Under the Care "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Under the care
of a palm
being read
like
a pretended
watershed

under the premise
of a very real
nevertheless
at least temporarily

as supposed-to-bes
getting bigger and bigger
via one-liner comedy scenes

while crossing small lobbies
toward highly unlikely
crowd-pleasers

acknowledging
used-to-bes
of recent memory
by bridging
period pieces...

"Fascinated by a Bygone"...

" Fascinated by a Bygone "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Fascinated by a bygone
amorous life
having been downsized
along romantic lines

scripted vividly
from memory
abounding
in history

offering possibilities
like well-rehearsed scenes
based entirely
on previous seasons

voided of practicality
words borne out
by laughter from the past
back checked for accuracy...

"Breaking Out"...

" Breaking Out "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Breaking out
neither entirely
a hero nor a villain
among other things

with a ringing
in the ears
as calamity
for clarity

sounding murky
like thudding
and creaking
feedback
for the barely
seen swanky
ways of thinking

while crossing
fingers
and rhythmically
snapping
really counting...

" An Outpouring "...

" An Outpouring "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

An outpouring
turning out
to be musically
themed raising
up of families

like intriguingly
tantalizing caveats
of both blue
and white collars

admiringly stylin'
in cotton oxford
and drip-dry
art smocks

with the sumptuous
gravitas of the really sharp
paradoxically on target

as the canonically
twisting plots
of sudsy soap operas...

"Though Brief and Limited"...

" Though Brief and Limited "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Though brief
and limited
sometimes
contradicted
by heat and grit

suspended
mirrors
knocking
on windows
of floor-
to-ceiling
has-beens

still standing
perpetually asking
uncannily casted
hard-to-imagine

like sniffing
vintage catnip
quintessentially
just for kicks

with nothing
in particular
while sitting in
under blizzard
conditions...

"A Fair Amount"...

" A Fair Amount "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A fair amount
like final
hurrahs
for provocative
mercurial stars

spouting con-
founding monologues
of the heartless

via strictly devised
process-ease
insisting on versatility

repeatedly shouting,
" BE THERE!!! "
while simultaneously
pounding
at unyielding boundaries
with loud thumping sounds...

"Saying Farewell"...

" Saying Farewell "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Saying farewell
big visions
barely seen

just wanting
to get it
over with

as an after-
party
at intermission

before opening
off center
while noising off

like folk forms
in fanciful costumes
only minutes long...

"Pressed and Restless"...

" Pressed and Restless "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Pressed and restless
inevitably
feeling distressed

keying into fantasy
for relief
fully imbibing

like tribute nights
for fully ranging styles
mimicking teeming stampedes

by all means still standing
as encyclopedic
understandings

while mirroring
burgundy cheeks
reassuringly

engrossed in gossiping
yet stopping
just short of melodrama...

"Far-Reaching"...

" Far-Reaching "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Far-reaching
raised
possibilities

running
neck-and-neck
toward doubleheaders

at fist-pumping tempos
of apprehension
for "What comes next
to an aforementioned
husband and friend?"

as seen through
the mournful lens
of a subsequent
generation

making perfect sense
exiting comprehensively
in the company of truth tellers
expertly expressed
by an emphatic "AMEN! "...

"Sunny Daze"...

" Sunny Daze "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Sunny daze
old episodes
replayed

spiffy
recycling
bins

nothing
but
niceness

from
another
time

wonder
amid
grime

versus
a sanitary
upscaled
paradise

with white
palettes
brightening

yet craving
️the grittily
lived-in

jazz
and tap
filled

warm
reminiscences
what a difference! ...

"A Succession of Images"...

" A Succession of Images "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A succession of images
like the then-and-again
stealthy yet helter-skelter
excesses of more-or-less

registering going to hell
while ruggedly
running and gunning
with early stirrings
skittering all at once

whooshing at one
point or another
as cynically yukking
quietly suffering
flesh-and-blood

lacking the magic
touches
of euphoric love...

"Mischief Makers"...

" Mischief Makers "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Mischief makers
alive and well
thriving in the present

like buried treasures
marked with "Xs"
as political correctness

grocery bags over heads
making subtle gestures
of ostensibly tentative
comic chemistry

practically laugh-free
conspiracy theories
albeit real-life grizzly
well within swiping distance...

"Crime Capers"...

" Crime Capers "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Crime capers
blessedly
free of snickering
during gleefully
whimsical comedies

nurturing childish dreams
featuring the nouveau riche
replete with the reluctancies
of carefully scrubbed
farcical hold-ups

worn thin by jibber-
jabbering glowerers
getting paid to play it safe...

"Trying to See"...

" Trying to See "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Trying to see
to be exact
no matter how

being performed
in-the-round
in order to show how
to tip the balance
toward harder tasks

as irrational as
the matching of airs
with house bands
of live jazz

like pro-ams
dressed casually
with unabashed nostalgia
infused with fantasy
for an epitaph...

"Less Kind"...

" Less Kind "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Less kind
can't help
but admire
battling robots
offering clarity

chomping down
looking as dazed
as alliteration haters

like old-hat subject matter
parceled out unannounced
depths of character

set up knocked down
inexhaustibly talented
in hipster black
pleated trousers

at stealthy happenings
for sad sacks
having gone off axis...

"Then The Devil"...

" Then The Devil "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Then "The Devil"
of the temple
throwing yourself
against igneous stones
moreover unable to help those
who see notes on their own

bowing down
living the land
casting nets
while calling them
"Demon-Possessed"

rapacious exaggerations
like supernatural ways
as the basis
for pre-occupations

steps
doorways
open
to
interpretation...

"Diving Headlong"...

" Diving Headlong "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Diving
headlong
at all costs
time haunted
to a fault


suspended
steel forms
poised
to launch
into
the Great
Out-of-Doors
while
in mourning

exhausted
unadorned
self-portraiture
glossed over
on pause
up to a point
co-joined...

"Pick Up a Stone"...

" Pick Up a Stone "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Pick up a stone
sit on a cushion
consider ideas

alter experiences
of crockery and string
from most-pressingly
wishful thinking

as slightly different
hyper-real practicality
multi-media thought-to-bes
like inventive feelings
while showing up gauzily

assembling peace
for devotees
of light-keepers'
diaries inked invisibly...

"Evil in the Eyes"...

" Evil in the Eyes "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Evil in the eyes
setting out
at that time

while being
mobilized
to fight

as a reply
to the roundabout
water pouring over hands

having been
saddled and said
to be in bitter distress
without telling well ahead

lying dead
on the bed
outstretched
head-to-head
looking all red...

" A Quieter Side "...

" A Quieter Side "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A quieter side
goal-spired
parallel lines

continuing
in kind
as black
and white
in relief

wood
card-
board
and
twine

thrilling
to sirens
abstract
in style

like shared
titles
for the slightly
wild

inventively sly
uninvited lineups
of nasty or nice

wily biases
unsurprisingly
seen widely
having gone
silently awry...

"Full-Color"...

" Full-Color "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Full-color
time lines
first days
final days
on the face
of vast arrays

sent out
like ravens
both night
and day

clans
within
nations
each
with
its
own
language
upon
migrant
plains

while
rocking
cradles
households
maintained
all
in
a
name

bowing
low
to
the
ground
doors
broken
down

rising
up
from
the
land

taken
by
the
hand
as
second
chances

peeling
branches
descending
sand...

"On the Rise"...

" On the Rise "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

On the rise
feats
of pen and ink

brilliant but unlikely
like leading ladies
goggling at audacity

after getting snared
walking hand-in-hand just barely as an example
of evenhandedness

taking inspiration from dance
one foot in the past
prancing with vicariously
shared printed matter...

"Taking a Harder Line"...

" Taking a Harder Line "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Taking a harder line
revisiting rivals
distributing fliers

surviving on re-hydrated salts long-since slaughtered
quiet exhaustion

suddenly sealed off
sexual assaults
hardly walking

absorbing refugees
living in fear of hostility
native-speaking
constituencies

here illegally
supporting amnesty
tightening series

land-mine fields
foraging riskily
acting nominees

mono-racial natures
of convulsive mayhem
zigzagging actions

shimmering cameras unveiled
yet the shows won't air
after taking yearlong naps
as serial slammings

with dizzying
middles
of winter chills
setting in

like fiendishly
ingenious
multiple
appearances

with little
or no interest
in niceties
growing rickety
woozy figurines...

"Unfolding in Quizzical Episodes"...

"Unfolding
in Quizzical
Episodes"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Unfolding
in quizzical
episodes
as images
mostly

like close ups
of lacy filigrees
becoming
especially
bouncy

upon
spreading apart
tectonically
both inferred
and confirmed

superheated springs
clustering gathering
bubbling rift valleys

knobby towers
hungry prowlers
venturing out

like vagaries
being inaugurated to date
housed inside of hangars...

"Burning Brightly"...

" Burning Brightly "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Burning brightly
as a reminder
of the unsurprising

steadily declining
while simultaneously
raising eyebrows
throughout life

likened to blue light
through dilated irises
realized in private

blazing white hot
in flickering
lyrical lines

oscillating
with smoky ties
to steamy lives
cords piled high...

"Longtime Strains"...

" Longtime Strains "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Longtime strains
longing to escape
into the less complicated

like little-known gangs
while looming in place
as wild exaggerations

long advocated
as inflationary evasions
under investigation

killer reputations
being outpaced
by high stakes

"Closed on Mondays"...

" WHO SAYS !!! ? "...

" WHO SAYS !!! ?"

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

WHO SAYS !!! ?
during conspicuously
dissimilar key familial minutes
of blended wry riddles

into silly installments
for the darlings within
a satirically quirky comedy

after being re-released
intermittently as persnickety
arm-waving fixtures

coming under intense scrutiny
yet never totally out shining
glossy stiff upper lips
while jovially spouting
" PIP-PIP !!! "...

" A Quick Run "...

" A Quick Run "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A quick run
quite simply
to where lifties
don't quit

sitting
in chairlifts
topping lists
of not
costing
anything

like friendly
non-visitors
with deep
reverences
for steep
power skiing

while enlivening
wintertimes
by hiking
over years

quite utterly
turning up
onto hardcore
summits
all from the jump...

"Suppressed Longings"...

" Suppressed Longings "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Suppressed longings
unwrapping layers
reaffirming promises
of the-not-so-hot-
most-probablies

by leap-frogging
over opposites
like pin curling
bobby pins
for blondes

out of boxes and jars
groaning sorrily
during hide-and-seek
for sugar-plum fairies

hitting Mouse Kings
with fluffy slippers
mimicking
the worldly-wise

while wildly
whirling
under the guises
of wizened
white-haired guides...

"In a Bold Stroke"...

" In a Bold Stroke "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

In a bold stroke
delivered
with cagey intensity
while secretly
following poignant
unbelievability

you guessed it--
like arias melting
into remembrance
with histrionic
gesturings
as affirmations
of tenderness

by singing
dazzlingly
twitching
with spasms
towering
cumulus clouds
bursting out...

"Harvesting the Depths"...

" Harvesting the Depths "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Harvesting the depths
dangling unseen
searching while lapping

in a coastal Shantytown
in saris weaving garlands
with lyrical richness

suggestive of stealth
during great duets
straining for pledges

lost in memory
yet joined together upon death
hewed at the edges...