jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “wind”

19 Aug 2023

window wide open


I’m unable to finish my thoughts
interrupted by the winds
the voices they carry sounding
somewhat familiar
I strain to capture the words
struggle to interpret them
imagining how far they must have traveled
to enter my realm

I come to find they want to know
certain things
answers I do not possess

it is a test I tell myself

the winds die down & the voices fade
darkness settles in
—a coolness arrives

capable of finishing my thoughts again
I write down the words & phrases
handed to me by the winds
spreading them out on the corner table
piecing them back together
my inner voice gaining rhyme & meter
the window always open





august two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
29 Aug 2022

late august


to you I can tell nothing
and so I sit & listen for the wind
to bring me something new

if the silence were a shadow
and you retreated
for a time
I would then speak whenever
the sun allowed me to

in the late evening
the sounds of the day
reinvent themselves intensely
—a language all their own
you saying nothing as I
listen for clues





august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
30 Oct 2021
4 Comments

the last of the october wind


listen for the last of the october wind
due to arrive before the very first bird
sings her farewell song

what the wind ushers in weighs heavy
on your melancholic thoughts
a strange sadness knowing
that the end is near

when the cold sharp blasts
come roaring south by southwest
an orange sky will slowly appear
swallowing the thin cirrus clouds
and leaving you hopeful
that this is how it will forever be





october two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
31 Aug 2020

three weeks after


the season is quickly changing
and most of the houses
are dark by 8pm

it’s hard to say how many
are abandoned
voluntarily or otherwise

the streets are littered with what
the winds left behind
there’s hardly any room
for any kind of truck to pass through

the smell of mixed wood abounds
whether freshly cut
or burning miles away
hundreds of wood chip pyramids
magically appear overnight

the carnival was supposed to be in town
(a fresh change from
all the other outsiders)
but it was abruptly cancelled
just like everything else




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
10 Aug 2020

straight line winds


straight line winds
is that what you call them
flattening everything in their wake
leaving me & everyone else
without a chance in hell
of making it home before midnight


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Jul 2020

unchanging are the winds


besides clouds & butterflies
and pollination & sweet summer smells
there’s something else in the air
or so the restless community tells me

the winds come & go at their leisure
bringing with them unpredictability
though what’s in the air remains
as if it were yesterday all over again




july two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
27 May 2020
6 Comments

harnessing the wind


rent is three weeks overdue but that’s cool
according to the new rules

then there’s three of us or perhaps four
hanging out in the third floor dormer
glass writing desk facing the octagonal sky

time travel seems easy of late
caught between reality & endless grace days
transgressing past the same old lines

here we go again overlooking the mississippi
up a little higher than prospect park
smoking salems and reloading the toker ii

we take turns passing the binoculars
bringing into focus various white triangles
racing faster than the wind




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
26 Feb 2019
2 Comments

windswept at midnight


which way the breeze blows
depends on the mood
of the moon
influenced by waves
continuously at play

high winds do sweep
those blues skies away
turning dirt into dust
and hopes into dreams

inner thoughts recede
settle near the edge
of the sea
waiting on the tides
to rule on a lover’s fate





february two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
18 Oct 2018

October Winds


There’s good reason the wind’s
gone crazy this time of year
a time typically reserved for
pause and serenity and reflection

I’ve known this part of the world
counting days immeasurable
only recently interrupting dreams
once ever so pleasurable

October winds ushering change
welcomed or otherwise
providing comfort to the living
offering light onto the fading




october two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
07 Apr 2018
6 Comments

santa ana winds


there is desperation in the wind
causing fires to spread
and lonely thoughts to cave in
good lord handing out hail marys
like there is no tomorrow

it’s 4:30 in the morning
and you tell yourself the sun
may never rise again
and somehow you forgive yourself
finally resigned to fall asleep




april two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Jan 2014
8 Comments

earthbound and elemental


she keeps old zippo
and stick matches
stashed inside denim pockets
just in case something
ever needs starting

innocent dragons
breathe in knowledge
exhaling old world ideas
to winded children
dying for fresh air

oceans rock and roil
worshipped by clouds
parading as aliens
showering the coast
inexorably

deep within the soil
life awakens
stirred by foot driven shovels
uncovering rock
never before seen


january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
16 Oct 2013
6 Comments

Dances with leaves


I stood looking out the window
at a small pile of leaves
I had raked and forgotten about

Damn I thought
I can’t believe I left behind this pile of leaves

It was then as I had these thoughts the wind
came out of nowhere
hitting the pile of burnt colors
and sending them high into the air

Hey honey I yelled
you’ve got to come see this
the leaves are dancing

Crosswinds continued lifting the
leaves higher than eye level
twisting them into a stream of
irregular circular motion
fully fluid yet shapely
as if produced by a child
playing spirograph on a table

Hey honey I yelled
you’ve got to come see this

This time she leaned her head back
and turned her neck my way

What is it she asked – I’m reading

The leaves are dancing I said
you’ve got to come see this

First there was a pause as the
leaves continued to dance
and then there was closure


october two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
26 Jul 2013
18 Comments

before the winds do


I thought I heard something
but it was just the wind
I think she said
sitting in the living room

I perked up and turned down
the baseball on TV
started to listen in
like one of those creeps

repetitive silence ensued
followed by curious winds
sneaking in
through the attic vents

rushing in I reached out
begging her to take
my hand
before the winds do





july two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
30 Dec 2012
12 Comments

another iowa winter


nobody knows what the weather
is like in iowa
just like they don’t know gigantic
potatoes only grow in idaho

in january it’s so damn cold here
the cows don’t move
so it’s easy to walk right up to them
and snap photograph after photograph

there are no metropolises in iowa
just little towns
with a post office and a tavern
where you can tie your horse to a post

in the winter the winds blows so cold
it leaves you shivering
until march when the sun penetrates
the earth and reality begins to blossom


december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Dec 2012
6 Comments

weather woman


i’m in love with the weather woman
but i’m afraid to let her know

i love how she tells me
when my sun will shine

and when the rain
will soak my thoughts
with impossible dreams

and when the wind
will blow my blues away

i’m in love with the weather woman
but i’m afraid if she knew
she would concoct a storm
and send me tumbling away
like some insignificant snowflake



december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
20 Feb 2012

The Wind


It came out of nowhere
passed right through me
chilling me
to the bone
reminding me
of the time
I was slapped in the face
by a below-zero blast
outside the Chicago Hilton.

My mind usually ignored
such premonitions
but the air
still trapped
in my body
slowly circulated
until a centrifugal force
overwhelmed me with vertigo
and I was unable
to answer the telephone.
.

november, two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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