Promise Seen

" Promise Seen "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Promise seen
intervening
in deepwater
with a meandering
ring pealing in harmony.

Exacting

" Exacting "

by Suzán Jiván
for Stanislaus Dubowski

A big if
of enormous proportion
as the canned platitudes
and language-mangling gaffes
of a lesser actor
get a solid laugh
captured
with an exacting
"Stand by your man!"

Wetlands, Spawning

" Wetlands, Spawning "

Poem by Suzán Jiván
Photo by Stanislaus Dubowski
for Linda Erlich

A handy foil
as slick nears shore
wetlands, spawning
overhauls still stalled
again thwarted
by current and former
ostensively flawed oil laws.

Remote

" Remote "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

In a remote pocket
confidence sinks
into a dark
and uncharted
mano a mano
morphing
into the salty.

Stepped Up

" Stepped Up "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

From the mall
to the docks
stepped up efforts
no longer killing time
in an uneasy lifetime
dominated by headlines
blindfolded prying eyes
and recovery signs.

Wanted

" Wanted "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

An ardent
chronicler
long gone
long been
dismantled
in kind
by life
as a drive-by.

Metamorphosis

" Metamorphosis "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Suddenly quiet
vastly different
able to witness
metamorphosis
seen shinnying
up uninterrupted vistas
with unfathomable numbers
soaring above.

Raising Fears

" Raising Fears "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Differing
sharply
raising
fears
warily
embracing
face-
to-
face
remaining
unknown
needing
to be
shielded.

Evoking the Sedate

" Evoking the Sedate "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Contradicting tradition
at a greater rate
pressing the case
for evoking the sedate
as major obstacles remain.

Playing Out

" Playing Out "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Renewed scrutiny
playing out unevenly
once bubbly, now empty...

Me and My iPhone

" Me and My iPhone "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

My world is expanding
rather than contracting...

Appearing

" Appearing "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

A difficult path
how-
ever
faint
and
ob-
scure
ap-
pearing
rarely
and
briefly
then re-
emerging
as a tongue-
in-cheek
grandiose
dream.

Riddled

" Riddled "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Reaching out
while privately maligning
our ever-mystifying
deliberatively-riddled
health-care system.

Becoming Flat

" Becoming Flat "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Grayish
brown
above
paler
below
head
depressed
cusps
slanted
becoming
flat
feeding
on
offal
known
to
follow
the
darkest
blotches.

Thrown

" Thrown "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

So large
for so long
likened
to a smoldering backbeat
thrown together inexplicably
then smoothed out a bit
with last-minute hints...

Absurdities

" Absurdities "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Playing like a novel
in the much ballyhooed future
as hard-charging absurdities
screech at breakneck speed.

Layered

" Layered "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

The new
the next
new
and
the next
new
after
that
lay-
ered
with
con-
front-
ation-
al
over-
sight
suc-
cinct
and
fair-
mind-
ed.

Poignantly Palpable

" Poignantly Palpable "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Neither
admitted
nor denied
by the eyes
a poignantly
palpable
vivid hint
just above
stunning.

Night and Day

" Night and Day "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Second thoughts
challenges await
night and day
showing restraint
using a tiny sanctuary
as an escape
into another spate
of unrestrained
imagination.

Otherwise

" Otherwise "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Impress-
ive
over-
all
the
quest-
ion
was
whet-
her
other-
wise
epheme-
ral
lum-
in-
ar-
ies
cob-
bled
to-
get-
her
are
large-
ly
un-
watch-
able
non-
stop.

Channelling

" Channelling "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Channelling hidden
risks quickly dismissed
as frivolous when stick-
to-it-iveness finishes
with the short end of the stick.

Opaque Frustration

" Opaque Frustration "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Long-a-
waited
creatively
vague
second
generations
made
from opaque
frustration
existing
as
highly
enriched.

Surrounded

" Surrounded "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Seeming to rise
inconceivably
surrounded
spinning out
waking up
with a hand-
ful of dust
framed
and hung.

Deciding Whether

" Deciding Whether "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Sin-
ewy
drips
spi-
dery
webs
re-
cent-
ly
ren-
dered
de-
cid-
ing
whether
be-
coming
rest-
less
pre-
empts
suc-
cess.

Glimpses

" Glimpses "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

With-
in
strol-
ling
dis-
tance
fleeting
glimpses
splashy
ex-
hibtions
slap-
dash
con-
sis-
ten-
cies
deter-
mined
exactly.

Notably Cold

" Notably Cold "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Arms
con-
trol
loosening
the hold
on il-
legal smoke
not-
ably
cold
over-
dosing.

Upheaval

" Upheaval "

by Suán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Day
of up-
heaval
many
hur-
dles-
remain
both so-
phisti-
cated
and un-
wieldy
cuts in
capa-
city
forced
to flee
stag-
geringly.

Banning the Sale

" Banning the Sale "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Began

the pre-
carious task

banning
the sale

declaring
the land

a rural
area

ensnared.

Dangerous

" Dangerous "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Slow
notification
dangerous
defects
edging
towards
recalls
for floor
mats
last fall
plus
sudden
unintended
acceleration
tracing
data
filing
claims.

Held Up

" Held Up "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

A
bee-
like
hum
dif-
fi-
cult-
y
a-
mong
dro-
ning
co-
ali-
tions
pain-
stak-
ingly
held
up
in
vul-
ner-
able
hubs
of
stepped
up
des-
truc-
tion.

Supporting Characters

" Supporting Characters "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Supporting characters
of recent vintage
constantly shifting
like the reflective facets
of a spot-lit disco.

Over-the-Top

" Over-the-Top "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

A merger
a modern
all-star
slog through
an over-the-top
promenäde.

Averted - For Now

" Averted - For Now "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Weighing in
lashing out
averted - for now
linking security
to the layering
of flag waving.

April Fool

" April Fool "

by Suzán Jiván

for Linda Erlich

Most
no-
torious
promise
of war
offshore
vowing
more
muted
support
proven
crucial
April Fool
;)