" Statecraft as Stagecraft "...

" Statecraft as Stagecraft "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Statecraft as stagecraft
gladhanding
for private brandings

while schmoozing aspirants
parade past
tin-cup panhandling families
behind black glass

by cabinet candidates
vetting across manicured grasses
facing TV cameras
lit by chandeliers of cut glass

while flirting with litigants
roughly equivalent
to slippery and contradictory
seekers of publicity

endorsing prankster hijinks
with tumultuous themes
deemed subversive
restructurings
of covert
mastery


while publically
impuning
unpredictability
during anonymously
called-in bids

taking a mere ten minutes
to seal the blind deal
becoming admittedly
fond of martinis

summoning
clubby atmospheres
behind quarried blocks
of polished pink marble
tapped as elaborate
pachyderm  habitats...

" High Risks "...

" High Risks "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

High risks
for conflicts
of interest

brought in
from the fringes
as most-visible
symbols involving
tens of millions
in transition
while jockeying
for position

furthering
instability
with free-
wielding
degrees
of difficulty

by self-
descriptively
prefixing
business deals
with public
opinions' toxicities
being likened
to rolling snakes' eyes...

" Hex Nuts "...

" Hex Nuts "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Hex nuts
losing
company
in a hurry-up

trendy beds
for hens
sparing
no expense

turning heads
rated, "good "
to "excellent "
for past events

knowing
full well
with
and without
consent

resembling
distancing
measures

like lip-synced,
"Ding dong dell
pussy's in the well
Who put her in?"...

" Fright Night "...

" Fright Night "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Fright night
tantalizing treats
too often received
within electoral arenas
of political high jinx
piece by piece

while binging
on conspiracy theories
salted with recently
leaked obscenities

armed with bulletproof shields
side swiped by hand-made signages
feeling ditched by mythical figures
open hunting season
beneath soaring glass ceilings...

" Further Easing "...

" Further Easing "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Further easing
nearly toppling
only starting

issuing sweeping
concession speeches
owing allegiances

deepening misery
looking warily
to putting on airs

divisions of classes
clamorous
infertile romances

snaring
iconoclastic
disasters

hair-
trigger
candidates

ceremonial
aftermaths
ashen gunny sacks...

" Sugar 'n' Spice "...

" Sugar 'n' Spice "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

"Sugar 'n' spice
and everything nice"

"Big girls don't cry"

"It's my party
and I'll cry
if I want to
cry if I want to
cry if I want to---

"You would cry too
if it happened to you"

as "snips and snails"
for "puppy dog tails"

Like underdogs
being transformed
into salty dogs
poured into salt-
rimmed highball
glasses as ceilings crack...

" Time-Honored "...

" Time-Honored "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Time-honored traditions
like rallying celebrities
clamoring for pressing levers
through traffic-choked streets
monuments etched
with, "We the People"...

hearing helicopters chopping
school buses in parking lots
as school district responses
to ballet boxes block after block
leading to electoral colleges

being counted
to the "nth" degree
determining leaders
locally and nationally

choosing to vote early--
late-night tallyings victory
and concession speeches
in the "We" "Ours"...

" Poll Fantasies "...

" Poll Fastasies "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Poll fantasies
like patch-
work tuxedoes
as formal wear
for inaugural balls

displaying splashes
of tartan plaids
as retail magic
for fleece jackets
of reclaimed plastics

forming high-quality fabrics
while really caring
and knowing full well
how to get from here-to-there

wearing lined pant tailorings
declaratively traveling
through voter rites of passage
transpasses in hand
"Hail to the Common Man!"...

" Witnessing "...

" Witnessing "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Witnessing silver linings
behind unifying pioneers
amid rising lifelines
fixing eyes on prizes
in close-cropped styles

being counteracted
by unjustifiable war crimes
crossing the line cyphering
promising ingredients
and dizzying possibilities
after calamitously
taking to the streets
in flimsy workout gear...

" Reckoning "...

" Reckoning "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Reckoning, "Well, I reckon"
as an artist  in residence
like good-n-plenty for ethicists
of unprecented coincidences

by past presidential elections
previewed by feminists
with minimal side effects
via extra-sensory perception

while rediscovering ourselves
being biometrically projected
endurance contests gaining strength
with the coming of the new old age...

" Running "...

" Running "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Running wild
pop idols
in spotlights
of looming crises

treading lightly
yet going viral
by botching air strikes
and stymying allies

despite high profiles
from low lifes
stealing headlines

while stylin'
like two-timin'
afterlives
upon glorifying
violence...

" Jolted "...

" Jolted "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Jolted
dislodged
under-
armor
nominees

ugly
wriggling
rearing up
upbringing

fleeing
while
blaming
vast
conspiracies

irresponsibly
speaking
at emphatically
chaotic rallies

upon battle-
hardening
crackings
down

sneaking
about
scrambling
around
timed out
hands down...

" Staggering "...

" Staggering "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Staggering
accusing hackers
gropers bragging
for tax advantages

in open battles
having
come under attack

mass casualties
tattered flags
rockets red glare

while flying
at half staff
in national despair

being detailed
with abandon
unveiled
well in advance...

" Bitter "...

" Bitter "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Bitter
debates
asked
about
tapes

making cases
for investigations
during divisive
campaigns

heated
exchanges
extremely
animated
funds'
raisers

evoking
voters'
disdain
eyes
glazed

unfairnesses
claimed
restating
catchphrases
disunity based
on the take...

" Concluded "...

" Concluded "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Concluded
with alarm
as hacked
documents
still at large
without
comment

passing on
pet projects
while falling apart
for sakes of argument

opposite parties
in skittish markets
feeling all charged up
most uncommonly
like lead comics

seen weeping
during cringe-
worthy premieres
bawling tearily
heaving
uncontrollably...

" Sounds "...

" Sounds "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Sounds the same
nervously awaiting
writing paper
for keyboard players
plinking away
in alien conversations

questions razed
brick-layed
memory lanes
versus slated
sidewalk havens

facing down
expectations
already re-
created
aggregates

like concrete
showcases
slyly vacillating
as tabulated
mass incarcerations
interchangeably
gutted-and-pasted
penally place-to-place...

" Skittling "...

" Skittling "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Skittling
flippantly
across
ice sheets

taken
into custody
splattered
with blood
post dry runs

rivals need
not apply
for trying ties
to partial
cease fires

getting ready
to strike
throwing
lefts
and rights
blindly...

" Leader or Dissenter? "...

" Leader or Dissenter? "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Leader or dissenter
more and better
addressed
and unaddressed
questions

unparalleled
imperiled
amendments

like obese people
being left untreated
in election years
of  "What Ifs?"

as blue chips
versus falling chips
while handing out stickers
to right-and-left leaning
ping-ponging citizenries

demonstrating
at commencement speeches
repeatedly chanting
" It Can't Happen Here "...

" Transformations "...

" Transformations "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Transformations
in dank doorways
of fractious neighbors

being harassed
feeling intimidated
armed and dangerous

reframing equations
via military training
and inflammatory statements
from presidential candidates
in must-win states

spoken prior to debates
to be televised "live" on cable
underscoring broadcast limitations
of artillery-altered landscapes

like hidden cities in vast regions
with rare figurines of infertility
"ice-free" defying "the easy"

well within proximity to jet streams
of  public apologies
polling nothing like a "good cry"
pushed off to the side
while bullets fly...

" Bending the Rules "...

" Bending the Rules "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Bending the rules
with corrosive rumors
of short-form birthers

being turned on and off
while hawking
fraudulent cure-alls

via flimsy forces
during free-for-alls
in paisley uniforms
for the long haul

still lacking  in endorsements
from the branding masters
of fiction classes seen as
flashes-in-the-pan...

" Scant Talk "...

" Scant Talk "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Scant talk
walking the walk
wrapped in gauze

scratching for answers
to distant disasters
along lengthening
campaign trails

fans whirling
strung from rafters
like spare actions
in lost lands

as crass bonus tracks
gone 'a' wailing
finances failing
all on a dare...

" Putting Big Goals "...

" Putting Big Goals "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Putting big goals
into question
with few friends
of artificial
intelligence

while devising
real ethics
for real estate
developers

feigning liquid
investments
as invaluable gems

swirling in eddies
of single specimens
lapping at the edges

brought together
by dispersed sections
of lasting impressions
reconnected by ferry
only on weekends...

" Now Mum "...

" Now Mum "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Now mum
having been
tripped up
by the rifts
in filled-
up prisons

being built
to limit risks
on behalf
of the hardly bashful
and barely wary

after leaving
nothing to chance
like billionaires
secretly clashing
regarding cash
as immortality

while scandalously planning
to issue tasers to staffers
being funded by backers
of morbid anatomy...

" Waiting for Life "...

" Waitimg for Life "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Waiting for life
to restart
with ardency

while stifling
speech
post crises

in a quaking
intergenerational
cyberspace

already being
put in its place
by hacked campaigns

unable to save
the deeply betrayed
turning angry

yet open to debate
with reservations
regarding
reconciliation to date

via escalating
online gaming
gang ties dangling...

" Sometimes Un-Realized "...

" Sometimes Un-Realized "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Sometimes un-realized
while tensions rise
along unjustifyingly
hardline high profiles
with no exit signs in sight

yet seen proceeding
counterclockwise
from top right

while simultaneously
attempting to shed light
on high-volume
reputed decline

at high decibel levels
of underground elements
becoming recklessly
heedless of consequences

like comically self-obsessed
unmolested never-ending
senses of helplessness

left unexpressed
lacking in contempt
for pseudo-harmless
no comments...

" Altered If Not Reborn "...

" Altered If Not Reborn "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Altered if not reborn
by cruel taunts
of supposed
"law and order"

while demonstrating
pressing needs
for judicial changes
by flag-waving
parading delegations

spurring outrage
in crime waves
of poor faith
from deranged
candidates feigning
rigged election days

while pre-tallying
who gets saved
frame-by-frame
by star-spangled
naysayers
in closing
ceremonies
of exploding
incarceration rates...

" Playing Out "...

" Playing Out "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Playing out in tiny
ordered lines by starlight
post disastrous air strikes

still staring
into consumer classes
like sci-fi fantasies
over lands and seas
of umsustainability

still rummaging
through rubbly shatterings
as amassings
of the nightmarishly ghastly
irreconcilable brandings
of the collaboratively panicky

while wearing meticulously
silk-screened oversized T's
being marketed with universal appeal...

" At Least As Well "...

" At Least As Well "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

At least as well
after raising questions
in order to tame threats

using outside methods
of incredible members
seeking tempering
from exposed inequities

while lending efforts
of experts
to greater effect

claiming medals
for the far-better
competitors

having been kept
on message
boasting of successes

with the built-in flexes
of inevitable
indescrepent meddling...

" Unlikely Places "...

" Unlikely Places "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Unlikely places
seeking aid
ignoring rape

phone calls made
wars raging
opposing candidates

big things awaited
getting frank
like flagging nations
in full-voiced condemnation
from worlds away

while re-hearsing plays
steamy and weighty
light and angels

losses of faith
in the early days
of "whatever" the case
as reciprocation
for patronage

being hiked
further and further
up the waist
revealing painterly
nearly naked saints...

"Fully Developing Empathy"...

"  Fully Developing Empathy "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Fully developing empathy
It's all about, "them"!
like character development
from grown-up memories
front and center if and when

with knacks for the romantic
as sports casters' strawberry-
blonde hair sticking every landing

clawing back lifting flailing
months after multifaceted talents
as prowess and challenge

being left only to chance
during pageantry's
sports sequined jackets

breakdancing avidly
in day-to-day gaits
claiming  famed
fool-proof ways
scaling skyscrapers...

" In a Marathon "...

" In a Marathon "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

In a marathon
of denied plots
still operating
as conversational
statements

constantly
being monitored
by the unorthodoxy
of hardscrabble policies

via mission-creeping
unremarkably
high-echelon parties

rigidly clinging
to the low self esteem
from making flip-
flopping promises
to the downtrodden
and unwanted

played in C sharp
repeated in every bar
feeling unresolved

having gone beyond
being besotted
by perennially arching
verbal blossoms
of pendant bleeding hearts...

"Recognizing and Recreating "...

" Recognizing
and Recreating "

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán 

Recognizing
and recreating:
"How's it made?"

like formulaic 
liquid crystals
and transistors 
manufacturing
tooth picks
and magnets 

being made 
matter-of-factly
as the most-mundane 
treasured creations 
in combination
with comforting
sameness 

after cutting
and shaping 
risky alienations
setting off
waverings 
in swing states

post fueled
debates
using faced-off
indications 
having already
taken the bait...

" Early Speech Utterings"...

"Early Speech Utterings"

by Suzán Jiván 

Mom & Mom-

Mom Suzán

Early speech utterings

"Where birdie go?

Use morrow

Lemme do again

I going drop it

I got someping

Why you knocking me off?

Dat's mines

Dis part broke

mouth open

What is dat?

What is dis?

What innere?

yep, it fit!"

adding credence

to the argument

of informal importance

by flipping the script

using single words 

symbolizing beginnings

of nebulously complex

yet brief sentences

being directed 

towards someone else

as actual sounds

accidentally produced

while babbling...

" Afforded Greater Scope "...

" Afforded Greater Scope "

by Suzán Jiván 

Mom & Mom-

Mom Suzán 

Afforded greater scope

well-known versus the unknown

as "Oh nos!" or "You so-and-sos!"

after falling short of the harmonious

by promoting narrow twisted growth 

like crude notions taking tolls

in slow motion going solely

moment-to-moment polling 

over and over "Yea" or "Nay"

"Yea" or "Nay" "Yea" or "Nay"

determining the bases

of our day-to-day

all "in good faith"...