“Repeated Warning Calls” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Repeated Warning Calls”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Repeated warning calls
eagles hawks soaring
sequel to sequel
screeching agape beaks
outstretched wings
circling ceaselessly...

“Calibrated Stealth” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Calibrated Stealth”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Calibrated stealth
hashing out thorny questions
with interminglings of empathy
prodding behind the scenes
under conditions of anonymity
beneath strict quarantine
while observing political distancing
and offering personal credibility
bound by decency
along with life-affirming themes
stitched together
in a patchwork of truth and meaning ...

“A Virtual Unveiling” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“A Virtual Unveiling “

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

A virtual unveiling
in greenhouse gases
where eating is really weird
without boundaries
of counting calories
pigging out playing out
hour after hour in lockdown
asking, “Do dress codes still matter
or are we getting too lax;
not up to the challenge
of donning fast masks daily?”

“Worrisome Signs” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Worrisome Signs”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Worrisome signs
on both sides of the aisle
blurring our survival
undermining science
denying climate “making light”
of the Coronavirus
minimizing lives
millions expiring worldwide
making “right”
in a “not-so-right-away”
yet claiming to be, “Good-Natured”
spouting grating disclaimers,
“That’s alright, that’s OK,
We still love you anyway!”
monstrous Pom-Pom’s waving...

“A Worsening Mess” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“A Worsening Mess”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

A worsening mess
bottlenecks
backlogged tests
slowing progress
straining food supplies
death tolls rising
hoping to cope
by keeping a diary
“journaling”
versus “jotting”
of everyday life
preserving personal histories
while finding writing
soothing rather than a requirement
it just might help to quiet your mind
and exorcise terrifying times ...

“Ghastly Effects” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Ghastly Effects”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Ghastly effects of the pandemic
plowed under ripe vegetables
millions of gallons of milk
dumped into manure pits
pounds of pungent onions
flung into long trenches
hundreds of thousands
of unhatched eggs
smashed on Easter Day

having been warned early and often
failing to act accordingly haltingly and falteringly
observing weak quarantines
super-spreading social consequences
hijacked cells endlessly replicating themselves ...

“A Collective Trauma” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“A Collective Trauma”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

A collective trauma
getting into the shower
with eyeglasses on
rupturing attention and memory
tight feelings in the chest
under the constant threat
of unrelenting stress
unsettlingly upending
senses of health and wellness
experiencing shortness of breath
and spiking temps living in fear
of the knee-jerk release
of a lethally speedy recovery...

“Victims and Vectors” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Victims and Vectors”

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

Victims and vectors for the spread
burying unclaimed dead in trenches
voided from memory
preying on propensities
for humans to connect
getting crushed by a pandemic
overwhelmed by requests
for urgent health protection
fatally unable to contain
excruciating pain
coding intubated patients
aerosolized contagions
splattering unmasked faces...

“Mixed and Wobbly” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Mixed and Wobbly”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Mixed
and wobbly
raging on
cardboard
coffins
hoarded
for bodies
on sidewalks

haunting voices
from the plagues
of “Long Before”
having unbalanced
the rich and the poor

more and
more wars
are being,
“called off”
but only
“up-to-a-point”
like more
“off-the-wall”
talking points
also called,
“double talk ” ...

“Never Seen Before” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán...

“Never Seen Before”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Never seen before
bearing the brunt
of no results
in need of comfort
from Cheetos
and Chef Boyardee
highly processed
longer shelf lives
immunocompromised
mouths going dry
one-day death spikes
bodies stacked three-high ...

“Undaunted Warriors” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Undaunted Warriors”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Undaunted warriors
heaving larger-than-life warnings
of deplorably wrongful
ultimately immoral lethal shortfalls
as a betrayal of human life
being seen as a leader’s war crime ...

“An Aura of Control” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“An Aura of Control”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

An aura of control
projecting false hopes
of fake “okey-dokes”
and ratings boastings
standing, “way-too-close”
during “The Era of Corona”
while meandering like lost souls
having been told to “Stay at home”
as narcissistic leaders gloat
housed in gaudy outposts
trophy cocks crowing
echoing grating notes
of depraved public betrayal...

“Burned-Out Cinders” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán ...

“Burned-Out Cinders”

by Suzán Jivan
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Burned-out cinders
as stacked corona casualties
banished to refrigerator trailers
like the first word in a failed fairy tale
ultimately unable to live, Happily ever after”
raked into ashen pails of despair...

“Flowering Trees” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Flowering Trees”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Flowering trees
dicots monocots
yuccas palms ...

“Clustered in Bundles” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Clustered in Bundles”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Clustered
in bundles
long twisted
conspicuous spines
planted widely
tiny stout spines...

“Polish Oak” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Polish Oak”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Polish Oak
scaly furrowed
terminal lobes
fruits enclosed ...

“The Lillypilly” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“The Lillypilly”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom& Mom-
Mom Suzán

The lillypilly
distinctly weeping
small shiny leaves
lining street
profusions of berries ...

“Grand Fir Lowland Fir” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Grand Fir Lowland Fir”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Grand fir lowland fir
chickadees feeding on oil-rich seeds
deer foraging on twigs and leaves
blotchy resin-bearing pockets
shallow fissures flat ridges
broad bands beneath
pale shiny winged seeds ...

“Redcedar Riddle” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Redcedar Riddle”

by Suzán Jiván
Mom & Mom-
Mom Suzán

Redcedar riddle
alkaline acidic
striking differences
leaf litter
soaking rain
water retained
infiltration rates
increased pore space
micro - and macro -
fauna and - flora
giant sequoia...

“Saving Face Life Saving” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Saving Face Life Saving”

by Suzán Jiván Mom
& Mom-Mom Suzán

Saving face life saving
exhausting stockpiles in 6 days
updates too late
outdated supply chains
chaotic administrations
scatterbrained data disassociation
sheltering in place
threatening deportation
accelerating graduation
stifling complaints
dying from complications...

“Sudden Shifts” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

“Sudden Shifts”

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

Sudden shifts in colliding principles
“I’m out! I’m out! I’m out!
on the outs without a doubt
feeling isolated and defiant
caught in denial like the strange
eddies of pandemic history
“It’s better to die on your feet
than in your knees!”
after shaking hands continuously
belittling infectious severity
minimizing deaths
dwindling of the veterans
perishing in once-festive settings
having lost their bets
with the death sentence
called, “Asymptotic Spread” ...

“100,000 Body Bags” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán ...

“100,000 Body Bags”

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

100,000 body bags
no more breathing
no more talking
no more sneezing
no more coughing
as joblessness soars
and everyday citizens
are asked to wear face masks
bared in pandemic clashes
in order to halt deadly lapses
into graphical pandering
for greater advantages
high-hats versus hard-hats
in social media fads flashing,
“The only card of its suit in a hand”
as fancy-schmancy wear while jabbering
to the top of a wizard’s staff
having been trampled by hashtags ...

“Borderline Critical” by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán...

“Borderline Critical”

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

Borderline critical apocalyptic statistics
corrupt political systems
both an end and a beginning as cyclical
brinks of extinction versus invincibility
opposing briefings mapping bleak trajectories
eerily received beneath quarantine
feeling fear to the nth degree
tsunamic casualties live streamed ...

“Do-It-Yourself Face Masks” ...

“Do-It-Yourself Face Masks”

by Suzán Jiván Mom & Mom-Mom Suzán

Do-it-yourself face masks remembering to stagger
the pleats from your mouth to your nose
keeping large droplets from coming out or going in
still sustaining social distancing
continuing practicing hand-washing hygiene
reducing transmitting airborne disease
improvising materials the thicker the better
thin and flimsy offer little protection
pulling a mask on or off or fidgeting
with it will lessen its effectiveness
always remove the mask from the ear loops or the tie
hand-washing it at night letting it air dry
thereby having become more mindful
of scratching your nose or rubbing your eyes
as portals to the body by a lethal virus
unconsciously left behind ...