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...

Sometimes Echoing Haiku

" Sometimes Echoing Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

Sometimes echoing
fast flying while summering
mostly hollow notes

Readily drumming
puffed up ruffs wing thump male strut
cackle cluck tundra

Shows purplish neck sacs
scattered scrub oak, not yellow
mellow cooing sounds

Favoring tall grass
buff on female, white on male
chunky puffy head

Dry rocky canyons
unmistakable patterns
hatching rapidly

Lowland chaparral
usually elusive
reddish cap, black patch

Less scaly patterns
giving low descending, "waow"
white faced, red eyed

Also seen at times
recognizable pink bills
naked greenish heads

Escaped flamingoes
highly social, quite local
known by bright pink tones...

After Long Detours

" After Long Detours "

by Suzán Jiván

After long detours
in total square feet
one bright evening
in a dense tangle
of anemones
and creeping jenny
over a half century

having to play pretend
while becoming
totally impressed
with garret-like lessons
tottering atop a window box
and hollering,
"Get on your mark!"
demurely followed
by, "Je ne sais quoi"...

Bold Smiles and Wisecracks Haiku

" Bold Smiles and Wisecracks Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Drinking and dreaming
critical abilities
matter-of-factly

II

Went down easily
with guileless simplicity
equally lively

III

Eccentricities
wider visibility
destruct and rebuild

IV

Fingertips and palms
rather than sticks and mallets
multi-talented

V

Tearing up downtown
juicy-sounding novelties
sharp-tongued comedies

VI

Flashy fantasies
escapist entertainment
bold smiles and wisecracks...

Far Flung Haiku

" Far Flung Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Terrifying scenes
shielded by ambivalence
straight jacket escape

II

Unattainable
deadpan, bizarre repartees
making good neighbors

III

Absurdist chambers
potent laugh lines, few and far
extracting humor

IV

Sort of redundant
paranoia and shot guns
ringing out, far flung...

Orogenies Haiku

" Orogenies Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Valleys and ridges
correlations in phases
like edges of old

II

Paleozoic
Blue Ridge and inner Piedmont
seamed orogenies

III

Meta-sediments
intrusively igneous
oceans beginning

IV

Folding and faulting
supercontinent's remnants
later colliding

V

Down-faulted, normal
metamorphosed schist and gneiss
stresses subsided...