Raccoon Haiku

" Raccoon Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Taxonomic name
Virginia Algonquian words
" Procyon lotor "

II

" Before dog ", " washer "
wash and dunk food in water
called, " coons " by humans

III

Alternating rings
black-banded, long bushy tail
mask-like cheeks and eyes

IV

Catching small, quick fish
barking, hissing, "churr-churr", scream
wailing tremolo

V

Consuming wild fruits
animal foods include shrews
crayfish, snakes, snakes' eggs

VI

Aquatic dabble
dextrous digits, long sharp claws
nocturnal forage

VII

Short forays by day
flat-footed walk, normal gait
thick vegetation

VIII

Hairless soles of paws
strong swimmer, agile climber
peak before midnight...

Wood-Warbler Haiku

" Wood-Warbler Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Sport a yellow crown
black face markings, chestnut streaks
hopping branch to branch

II

Blackberry tangles
strips of cedar, grapevine bark
catch prey in midair

III

A new nest on top
endangering high winds blow
along streams wetlands

IV

Heading south again
wintering in Mexico
tending to shun rain

V

Bubbling streams nearby
requiring nonstop flights
crane flies spiders web

VI

Bulky hidden cup
rhododendron, laurel bush
redstarts, lady bugs

VII

Saplings, tree-lined streets
black-throated blue northern tier
early observers

VIII

High-pitched, heading South
hovering among green leaves
getting hard to see

IX

Flitter, teeter, tip
Ground feeding, taking beetles
eating in treetops

X

Increasing volume
rushing brooks, waterthrushes
comforting tussocks...

Mourning Haiku

" Mourning Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Whistling mourning wings
flying in diminshed light
surviving weed seeds

II

Overwintering
with dense trees breaking the wind
resiliency peaks

III

Ascendant species
vigorously clapping wings
nuptial flight, gliding...

Full Circle Haiku

" Full Circle Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

First heard, being held
less straightforward, showing off
highly delighted

II

In scholarly mode
catalogued unhappily
throughout the latter

III

Away from big notes
died of a drug overdose
a hand-written note

IV

Greater than the sum
collapsed into each other
under discussion

V

Tiny upstairs space
invigorating lifeblood
that thing we call, "love"

VI

Wound up a victor
seemingly invincible
turning full circle...

Dueling Haikus

" Dueling Haikus "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Sorely cold warfare
difficult and dangerous
dueling stool pigeons

II

Quiet atmosphere
months after a mother hen
dissed chicken little...

Acute Haiku

" Acute Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Brandishing a pair
the first female commandment
ill-defined, acute

II

Rankings of racing
fighting for reinstatement
suspended dating

III

Retaliation
advocating new cases
suspended dating

IV

Beleaguered colleagues
contemplated date debate
aid and abetted...

But None of It

" But None of It "

by Suzán Jiván

But none of it
rates of damaged horses
saddling, " I'll gave another "
greatest ethical reckoning
taunting a prep school classmate
who later came out gay
he was last Saturday
calling for stricter regulation
of a drill sergeant school
by revamping its Bing...

Meant Not to Replace Haiku

" Meant Not to Replace Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Meant not to replace
used with added protection
approving the drug

II

Like prostitution
complete with advisors
at high risk

III

Safe-sex mentoring
especially prevention
taking medicine

IV

Evaluating
studies of the once-a-day
multiple partners

V

Many have fallen
experts say better methods
racing thoroughbreds...

Upended Haiku

" Upended Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Upended haiku
games of intimidation
mystified, anxious

II

With just the right heir
hilariously precise
playing jolly games...

Because the Peacock

" Because the Peacock "

by Suzán Jiván

Because the peacock
loses all it's plumes every autumn
then grows new ones each spring
beneath a lemon tree
like a sophisticated forgery
nicknamed for a canine friend
skipped over as a vowel
within a skylit room
registering cruelty
while intimating peace
behind a teak veneer
of an absurd gentility...

Turnstone Haiku

" Turnstone Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Black-and-chestnut back
orange leg color retained
feathers edged with rust

II

Whitish rump in flight
sandy beaches and mud flats
roosting on jetties

III

Rather rare elsewhere
wing stripe shown in flight
rapid dry rattle...

Rosy Finch Haiku

" Rosy Finch Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Narrow gray headbands
flocks flying in unison
mixed woodland borders

II

Straighter and longer
across boreal forests
contrasting red caps

III

Evergreen woodland
variable warbling
suburban shade tree...

Magpie Haiku

" Magpie Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

Iridescent green
bright wing patches flash in flight
black and white magpie...

Eyering Haiku

" Eyering Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

I

Incomplete eyering
nests in stunted conifer
gray-cheeked, declining

II

Coming in three parts
buffy breast with dark spotting
migrating in spring...

Soundtrack Samplings in Haiku

" Soundtrack Samplings in Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

Soundtrack samplings
without nasty narratives
for comparison

Tins of Old Masters
as fractional instances
on disparate cash

Thoroughly branded
lavishly feathered flapper
as largely barren

Longstanding fashion
like canvas-woven patterns
becoming grounded

As mutinous mates
grinning or grimacing mouths
daring gagged and bound

In final shootouts
of pink circular patterns
cut up and cut out

As home or homebound
serving as a foil for now
becoming spellbound

In a grid of black
as sumptuously tactile
zigzagging off track

Angle by angle
denatured abstract soundtrack
encouraged perhaps

Loosely translated
subversive second solo
not so long ago...

Viol Haiku

" Viol Haiku "

by Suzán Jiván

Playing a viol
watercolor on vellum
self-portrait drypoint...

Usages of the Term, 'Pop'

" Usages of the Term, 'Pop' "

by Suzán Jiván

Usages of the term, 'pop'
as microscopic
means of a common
camaraderie
submitting to a cultural
leveling
in grainy textures
with authentic
gestures
argued against
as humanist-led
group-oriented
uniqueness
rather than rhetoric
as auras
for far-reaching
aesthetics
of plenty
like replicas
hovering
next to denizens
on television sets
adjacent to flatbeds
padded with fragments
clearly expressed
as an assault
on the senses
like strawberry-scented
air freshener spreading
through public emblems
eventually ending
with the stench of decrepitness
tending toward revelatory
stretches of the deeply effected
offset by the excesses
of the several put into question
like the retinal perceptions
of a blind detective
assembled by earlier-mentioned
collectors projecting
testicled trajectories of gender...