tank is full and bags are packed
cases of water and beer and snacks
crammed inside the trunk
red hot chili peppers’ road trippin’
auto-repeating in the rear speakers
it’s over fifteen hundred miles
to nye county nevada
and according to google maps
we’re destined to arrive there
a day or two before the twentieth
august two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
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while two men and a woman
fix a flat somewhere near area 51
I wonder what will be the next stop
pancakes or mountainsides
or batteries plus
I’ve not been on a bus for decades
and I’m sure as hell ain’t gonna
get kicked off this one
there was a minor altercation
not that long ago
three unruly riders [most likely aliens]
unarmed but causing a ruckus
getting the worst of it by the acting sheriff
and his newly sworn deputies
a few miles shy of groom lake
there’s no signal out here
but I’m cautiously optimistic
that too will change
killing time playing sudoku offline
on my refurbished chromebook
july two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
here we are back on the moon
like it was nineteen sixty-nine
year of the miracle mets
oh how I remember it well
my dear friend
staying up all night
fighting demons disguised
as russian cosmonauts
so many years later
I’m reminded in song
being with you girl
is like being stoned
a million miles from home
they say the sun is blue
when running free
on the dark side of the moon
where gravity loves company
and green will always be your eyes
july two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there were four of them
marching down the sidewalk
a band of brothers and sisters
as if on a mission from god
it was quitting time and I was
getting into my car as they
were swiftly approaching
to get a closer look
I used my rear view mirror
and then directly outside my window
as they passed by excitedly
they were talking to one another
laughing and smiling and seemingly
unconcerned about privacy
though I somehow understood
every single word they said
their demeanor and inclinations
told me they must be aliens
and before they made it to the corner
their aura pixelated and dissipated
like a mysterious fog quickly lifting
june two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there are countless stars on the vaulted ceiling
visible only on cloudless nights
although unnoticeable to the naked eye
planets orbit each and every one of them
I often find myself lying down and pointing upwards
giving them names
and pondering
which ones are more likely to support life
as we know it
unlike this place I call home
none of these apples are at war with themselves
which is why I easily connect with them
as a most welcomed alien
may two thousand nineteen
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all rights reserved
the intensity is high in these
surroundings
but I play it cool by taking drugs
designed to keep
my blood pressure in check
I’m not supposed to be here
I tell them
but they process me nonetheless
handing out one of those
restaurant beepers that flashes red
when my table is ready
the longer I’m here the more attention
I seem to get
and when I tell them a second time
there’s been a mistake
they chortle and nod and strap me in
april two thousand nineteen
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all rights reserved
in the dark in alexandria
chasing an illusion
from one continent to the next
this city is far from dead
and inhaling its past is intoxicating
no matter the time of day
greeted by angels at midnight
I’m allowed to dock and disembark
a foreigner without a guest pass
I say tell them I’ll barely be seen
walking their sleepless streets
as if back in new york city
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
what brought me here is difficult
to explain
almost as if I was abducted
by a team of aliens
and set loose in the city center
something or someone
wiped clean my memory
and the clothes on my body
I was vaguely certain
did not belong to me
as I walk the streets
nothing is familiar
landmarks or architecture
the language or signage
urban animals roaming about
I stuff my hands in my pockets
pull out colorful script
and silver and gold pieces
fairly certain the sum of which
will give me a place to stay
for the night
over time I will come to find
there is inspiration in the streets
in everywhere I go
february two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’m like an undocumented alien
waiting in the gray room
blurred around the edges
keeping warm by candlelight
there is very little to read
but content is everywhere
and though drowsy
I stay wide awake just in
case they call my name
rows away children sleep
snickering and whimpering
unintelligible words in the air
like flashes of joy and fear
june two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been making a living harvesting diamonds
from faraway planets
bringing them back to earth by way of
space savvy drones
this lucrative technology I’ve curated is keeping
rocket scientists baffled
scratching their heads and ringing my phone
twenty-four seven
I’ll be damned if I’ll give them the slightest hint
of what they already know
something about the law of attraction
and how she moves me
may two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all right reserved
how are we to reconcile recent events
unable to come to terms why we
scratch and crawl and scratch again
expecting to find something brand new
instead uncovering oft told untruths
with shovel in hand it’s easier to go deeper
much further than digging like a dog
but what can there possibly be down below
that we don’t already know
dinosaur bones or diamonds from another world
mass graves from this past century
and the one before
from every century going back until kingdom come
instead of digging we learn to drill with precision
hitting veins of fools gold or liquid gold
eventually discovering wormholes
leading to china or another world altogether
places unfamiliar in a familiar way
leaving us wondering why on earth
we ever felt threatened in the first place
april two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
somewhere along the beaten path
rare earth elements are spotted
here and there
haphazardly discarded by
downright dirty rotten scoundrels
little aliens scurry in the shadows
having adopted stretches
along the way
stuffing recyclables into sacks
refurbishing trash into shiny trinkets
all skyscraper trees eventually fall
their treasure imperially at risk
that is to say
having crashed and imploded
only to be mined many lifetimes later
february two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
