“ The In-ness and the Out-ness “ ...

“ The In-ness and the Out-ness “

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

The in-ness and the out-ness of flowers on clay
calmer saner aptly named, “Snowbank”
displaying white sprays in May
no signs of waning infrequently straying
across arid plains and open places
as distinguished by behavior and range
while hibernating under common names
along The Great Lakes versus tropical races
irregularly spindle shaped rights of way
coursing as snakes in browns and grays
in flattened turban shapes while preying on aphids’
rubbing membranes along swampy glades
occurring on witch hazel on The Great Basin
darker slate gray hosts of coastal sage ...

“ In the Realm “ ...

” In the Realm “

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

In the realm
of imperfection
being driven
by statistics of godliness
flipping brilliances
via mercurial repetitions
implying propinquity
while conjecturing kinks
having been frightened
by “The Shining”
during prime time lives
throughout reading assignments
page turning in large type
all for the singleminded - unrealized ...

“ Ball Culture “ ...

” Ball Culture “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Ball culture
hedge funds
assets up front
former lovers
riding the bus
drawings colors
rough-cut
grief-stricken
mothers
hard-won
canvases
hung up
looking
upward
overtly
over
indulgent
yet virtually
unheard-of
as unsolved
puzzles
still appearing
chuckling
in stand-ups
with tears
running
over spent
Summers...

“ Native Asters “ ...

“Native Asters”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Native asters
aka “bee weed”
and “bee tongue”
intensities of color
numbering in the hundreds
named, “ Our Latest One”
with no hints of shortcuts
as bold butterflies hover above...

“Short-tailed Swallowtails” ...

”Short-tailed Swallowtails”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Short-tailed swallowtails
negligibly brownish
with pale spots and bands
diffused by blue patches
in basal wing halves
via lined thoraxes
abdomens seen
as chiefly black
and extremely variable
with grays and tans
living on host plants
as members of the carrot family
amid arid lands including canyons
plus serpentine barrens
where seldom-seen females
delicately sip nectar
from mint flowers
while exceptionally powerful
males engage in aerial battles
then congregate on damp earth
to drink sparse liquids communally...

“ Swallowtails‘ “ ...

“ Swallowtails’ “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Swallowtails’
caterpillars
on plants
chrysalises
mimicking
bits of leaf
hanging
upright
throughout
an entire
wintertime
slung by
a silken girdle
right around
the middle
gold rims
reappearing
on parsley
and phlox
flitting
drifting
stalling
spotted
across
rivers’
shores...

“ Coming Up Short “ ...

” Coming Up Short “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Coming up short
in a cover up
of  “know nothings”
becoming public
as “Not quite good enough”
while in the company
of complicit “others”
deemed “nonesuch”
including gunmen
firing into the dead of summer
due to severe shifts in culture
plus shared false assumptions
redoubled by befuddlement
yet the trick is still meant
to be “structural” having been
“unreconstructed” struggling
with grief and anxiety
hoping for much better luck
being divied up
and infused with bubbles
but finally left buzzing
all at a bare minimum...

“ Deepest Memories “ ...

” Deepest Memories “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Deepest memories
of unknown identities
springing up
against a posthumous
Summer

oddly clustered
but welcome
immense clumps
of floriferous love

semi-double
great bundles
absolutely
plummy

lit up by sun
brilliant colors
succumbing
to disbudding
month-to-month...

“ Sharply Aromatic “ ...

” Sharply Aromatic “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Sharply
aromatic
capacities
roots
attached
branching
crowded
packed
transplants

faint
pink casts
as subtle
accents
in great
masses

highly tauted
sprawling
slouching
intense
blue lavender
at the fringes
of woodlands

frothy cruciform
flowers
sweet autumn
clematis

radically pruned back
pushed firmly into the ground
forming pleasing mounds
always on the lookout
for towering sunflowers
as convincing answers

spreading outward
weeping downward
no less charming
darkening into mahogany
as double-duty-dotted lilies
post opulent blossoming
bold bristly pods...

“ My Third Salvia “ ...

“ My Third Salvia “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

My Third Salvia
heavily mulched
with salt hay
and shredded leaves
propagated from cuttings
in early spring
yielding blackish purple
persistent calyces
placed with night-scented stock
and sweet rockets
putting “perennial” in quotation marks
as regards to winter hardiness
scrambling in rock gardens
vase-shaped blossoms
flaring harmony temperatures dropping
without a trace of harshness
low and prostrate soft and gray
yet virtually impossible to eradicate
having been avoided as a troublemaker
sulking pining away beginning in April
emerging in May as increasing days
lengthening becoming lanky
and in need of staking
given common names
like “naked ankles”
while branching
from the base...

“ Putting Matters Neatly “ ...

“ Putting Matters Neatly “

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Putting matters neatly
as both universal
and concrete starting off
on Main Street
where the soil
is somewhat sandy
and chickweed
and dandelions
sprout throughout
early years
being flanked
by flamboyant
beauties
going to seed
over succeeding
seasons

fat pale ivory
Madonna Lilies
Oriental Poppies
as possibilities
over weeks
and weeks
deep cracks
appearing

followed by
a steady drizzle
and the harsh winds
at the start of harsh
winter initiatives
while light in the north
begins to diminish

well drained
low fertility
as a flopsy thing
blooming freely
like native-thread-
leafed moonbeams
as dwarf varieties
of day lilies
glow in only
partial shade

emitting
slight fragrances
from atop
mulched layers
having grown
in horseshoe shapes

plentifully
as impatiens’
interplaying
stems and veins
weaving
throughout
vegetation

bog mates
being segregated
by a great
deal of grays
via pre-germination
of root elongations
appealing strains
becoming mainstays...

“ A Former Fixer “ ...

” A Former Fixer “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

A former fixer
facing conviction
formally admitting guilt

scrapping packaging
depicting victories
for animal activists

nourishing the sick
seeking bigger kitchens
via idioms of India
plus Persian dishes

while rethinking BLTs
as nectarines push peaches
out of the picture
along with ginger biscuits

becoming difficult to resist
considering calling them,
“ cobbler crumble crisp
grunt buckle betty sonker
slab pie ‘n’ pandowdy”

where any
stone fruit
will do
becomingly
covered
in drop
biscuits...

“ Unguarded Nests “ ...

“ Unguarded Nests “

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Unguarded nests
lustrous rough
herons egrets
storm petrels
great blue herons

remote inaccessible
night herons
necks outstretched

brown down
from a female’s breast
honking overhead
perennial beds

humid sweltering
extreme weather
suffering stresses

long-lasting seed heads
seasonal neglect
hairstreaks and elfins
desert green sooty silvery

dotted bogs blue copper
bright orange black spots
duller olive birds dropping

brown markings flying high
over the arctic circle
breeding barred cavities...