First expirment uses d3.xml and importedNode.clondNode to replicate an imported svg from inkscape here

2nd expirment here attempts to figure out how to use an SVG foreignObject and a div with a z-index to get my text on top. SVG has no z-index and re-ordering the cloned svg seemed like a hack because i'd have to traverse way up the dom and it didnt' seem like the best way to go. only the right nav works

3rd hereI took a look at click events for the bottomNav info div, and mouse over events for the left and right navs. I'm still frustrated on z-index, maybe the nav's shoudl be div's. It really needs some indication that bottomNav does something, like a wiggle, or a color change

finally i played with use and defs tags, but there is no attribute to manipulate to customize the "template" based on the bound data