jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Animals”

30 Oct 2023

Sleepless at a B&B in County Galway


I was counting sheep last night
—they were hairless

One by one the infamous shearer
stripped them all bare
the pile of dirty-white wool
growing wider & taller
by the minute

It was exhausting
watching her handiwork
sitting on a stool in the corner
removing each coat in one full swoop
releasing the hyped-up animals
parading across my bed

Come midnight
there was no more room left in the inn





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
12 Oct 2023

bukowski’s cat


I’ll pick out the runt
you can always tell which one
—you just pick ‘em up by the neck

I’ll make him tough I will
kick him around a bit
make him stay out all night long
just like me

it’s not like I’ve never
had one before
haven’t kicked one out of the house
haven’t given ‘em a few bucks
and told ‘em to get lost

but this one—
there’s something different
about this one

and so you let him stay
for a little while
as long as he doesn’t cost you much





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
26 Sep 2023

against the grain


I saw her outside
my office window on a
warm september afternoon
dressed in short jean shorts
& a blue tank top
pacing back & forth on the sidewalk
smartphone covering her right ear
her left hand holding
a retractable leash
the end of which secured
a relatively small black pussycat
attempting to go against
the grain





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

Posted in Animals, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
18 Sep 2023
2 Comments

the silent street cleaner


discussions led to allegations
something about a lie
& how the street killer
is still out there

how many lives must perish
before the lie
is extinguished
before the silent killer
is exposed for all
the world to know

allegations led to revelations
of a lie within a lie
the killer carrying
a concealed weapon & silencer
taking pot shots at any
& all known stool pigeons





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

Posted in Animals, Birds, Poetry and tagged , ,
16 Sep 2023

inviting like a garden


a snake in the grass
is much better than one
on asphalt
a road on the outskirts of town
black & fiery hot
from the midday sun

do not attempt
to cross the highway lowly one
and do not tempt me with
your foolish games

if you’re smart
you’ll retreat to the shoulder
and back to the green grass
moistened by the morning dew
inviting like a garden
where knowledge grows





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
12 Sep 2023

nine ball in the corner


I probably won’t be around
to see how it all ends
but then again maybe I’m just a cat
enjoying an earlier life

it’s true I don’t recall
where or when I was born
instead I must rely on others
who claim to know such information

concerning the before & after
what I witness by day isn’t enough
instead I rely on technicolor dreams
forcing me to jump to my feet

I’d like to be a mouse or a mole
working from the inside
gathering intel by way of a frequency
only I can understand

somehow I’ve got this feeling
next time I’ll wake up
on the other side of the world
probably someplace like kathmandu





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

Posted in Animals, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
05 Sep 2023

the year of the rabbit


how far back can you reach
is there a rabbit there
under your hat
or are they afraid
to even show themselves

it was supposed to be
a peaceful year
but certain powers that be
made damn sure
it wasn’t in the cards

and now the world
is once again
being bombed to death
—once optimistic rabbits
dig deeper into their holes





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
18 Aug 2023

the large hadron collider


what’s the point of smashing particles in a
machine that goes round & round ad nauseam

I am a greyhound
racing around the track
chasing the rabbit that somehow
runs faster than me
but miraculously I don’t break into
millions of tiny pieces

having given up on the rabbit
I decide to take the form of a roadrunner
running in circles in the desert for no
good reason
my speed increasing with every lap
my body staying perfectly intact

eventually I retire into the night
my body once again changing shape
this time becoming trillions of grains of sand
trapped inside a glass timer
slipping ever so slowly from the top
to the bottom
until at last
I am a mass of nothingness





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

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
12 Aug 2023

the joker in outer space


refreshing memories
of what’s been told before
this is not just a game
though we are always playing
sometimes serious
sometimes sincere
far in & far out
like some feline cosmonaut

I hear some suggesting
it’s not their first rodeo
but they look nothing like
any cat I’ve ever seen
further surprising me
by being able to speak
confirming my suspicions
about outer space





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
01 Aug 2023

laboratory mouse


in the dream I had no hair
not on my head or arms
not on my legs or chin
or anywhere else
for that matter

it was as if I was a hairless albino
but I was anything but white
my eyes blue like a flame
my lips a liquid hot pink

could it have been that I was melting
left hanging above a candle
my body slowly becoming the wax
creeping down all sides
of the cylinder





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

Posted in Animals, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
13 May 2023

facing the edge


I pull to the side of the road
mainly out of curiosity

how am I to move
the injured marmot
to the side of the road

I don’t get out of the car
instead I look up at the sky
its eyes burning like death

I look away
as if losing a staring contest
with the sun

a vehicle drives by
and then another and another
a whole host of them
like well-equipped refugees

I take my cue from the marmot
[which has seemed to move on]
and proceed
against the grain





may two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserve

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
02 May 2023

coming & going as they please


something touched my shoulder
perhaps I had been dozing off
in & out of a dream

my eyes flickered
but it was too dark to see
instead heard metallic wind chimes
as if they had just been rewound

whoever was responsible
[for the touching and/or rewinding]
did not show themselves
in fact I started to believe they had minimized themselves
having fled into the woods behind the garden

it was cold out but plenty bright
and when I opened the blinds
the light was blinding
and for a brief moment I thought I saw them

I should have known not to open the blinds
at least not without an approving birdcall
something that had been missing
since before my self-induced slumber

I’m stuck
where I’ve been stuck
for what seems like a fortnight now
this rectangular room seemingly self-sustaining
three sides made of glass
the other w/a singular door

slightly ajar
floral & fauna
completely silent
looking in from the outside





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

Posted in Animals, Birds, Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
01 May 2023
5 Comments

movie night


I could hear them in the kitchen
three little mice having just learned
how to make popcorn

I was rocking in the parlor
cleaning my gun & sharpening
my whittling knife
catching bits & pieces of their
unintelligible conversation

when the timer went off
I set down my block of wood
and proceeded to the kitchen
the smell of butter & salt & spilt beer
dominating my senses

cracking the basement door
all I heard were the opening credits
to walt disney’s cinderella





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , ,
28 Apr 2023
5 Comments

the orphan parade


we knew the woods as well
as any wild animal
and they knew us
just the same

we tended to keep
to the minor trails
rifle & canteen strapped
on either shoulder

we were not at war
but a silent opposition
seemed to be surveilling
our movements

over time we learned
to scramble our signals
traversing in groups of three
or two or one

intercepted messages
labeled us as
the orphan parade
guardians of the trees

day by day we evolved
our mission never changing
constant orders from above
by way of telepathy





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
22 Apr 2023
2 Comments

Taming of the Lion


April is nearly over
& I’m mowing the lawn
in lightly falling sleet
that stops & starts
like a cat not knowing
if she wants in or out

The underbelly
of the cutting machine
cannot efficiently or
effectively mulch the wet
& overgrown grass
causing it to cease
every few swaths

My neighbors must think
I’m some sort of idiot
giving the mower
a good talking to
while on my knees
clearing the clumps
with my gloved hands
hopefully pulling the cord
for the very last time





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , ,
20 Apr 2023
4 Comments

the rabbit & the fox


one thousand miles behind the sun
darkness closes in
ultraviolet rays
fading in the rearview
a temporary illusion
like the fox giving chase
aided by once elusive tailwinds

though the light is faint
love is in constant motion
one thousand miles behind the sun

the rabbit is not afraid of the fox
its purpose ever changing
the pursuer off in a new direction
one thousand miles behind the sun





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

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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