" 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!"...