Prowl These Woods

" Prowl These Woods "

by Suzán Jiván

Prowl these woods
scores of rare
big-antlered stags
festooned with grass

fawns gambol
across ragged patches
speeding back
through man-made canals
in the thousands...

As We PassThrough

" As We Pass Through "

by Suzán Jiván

As we pass through
pursuing a continuance
of pre-eminence
physically and mentally
like autumn medleys
coaxed into bouquets
out of vining tomatoes
with a tiger's gaze
likely inflated
by the poorly paid
with a sum far greater...

Summer Sun Pours

" Summer Sun Pours "

by Suzán Jiván

Summer sun pours
into desiccated forest floors
unlike anything known before

as monsoons wash loosened soil
across huge herbivores
seasons before

along parched courses
for gaunt scavengers
performing the newfangled task
of stalking stall-fed animals

as women from many castes
carry empty pails
across degraded lands

in early signs
of being shortsighted
as certified outsiders

seen beneath intensified twilight
like a darkness that enlightens
while banishing daylight
against the darkened sky
with a fish eye

as unmatched masses of gasses
brandished by a time-lapsed
lunar shadow angled toward totality

in the conjunction
of an umbra and penumbra
as a conundrum covers the sun...

Not a Common Fate

" Not a Common Fate "

by Suzán Jiván

Not a common fate
quoted as saying,
" Forgery was raised "
from the exact place
of personal taste

with a fear of litigation
over the missing page
of the rock of ages
complete with sunshade
and a nickname...

With Ink Still Wet

" With Ink Still Wet "

by Suzán Jiván

With ink still wet
works for a cello
and a wailing clarinet
as honorable mentions

virtually unseen
since first inception
with the severity
of revelers

glaringly and malevolently
offset by a present quest
for the venerable

funk and shuffles
on a drum set
or sometimes
just one
strapped to the chest
still wet with sweat...

Termite Haiku

" Termite Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

Digests cellulose
abundant and destructive
sterile males females

A single queen king
distinct social colony
efficient structure

Workers feeding nymphs
building and repairing the nest
foraging for food

Pale soft and wingless
sterile soldiers, larger heads
main enemies ants

Most numerous caste
depending on the species
from tiny to vast...

Beetles Haiku

" Beetles Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

Parallel sided
noticeable striations
many species fly

In touch with larvae
wedge-shaped Bess Beetles, Betsy
fungi in the gut

Chew wood into pulp
rubbing inside leaf-cutters
plush antennal clubs

Hump-backed companions
slightly flattened abdomens
distinctively black

Brash eating habits
pieces of dead animals
as drastic scarabs...