jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Dogma”

tomorrow


i sit in the garden of good
and evil
and wonder if i’ve witnessed
enough

the quiet and beauty
of the garden
stands in dark contrast
to the cruel corners
of a violent
planet

i sometimes wonder
how the sunrise
will hit the acropolis
a thousand years from now
wonder in what way
i’ll be able to archive it
and recall it
again and again

(i’ve witnessed the birth
and near drowning death
of a child
only to be brought back to life
by a breath
i never knew existed)

as i sit in the garden
i understand there is more
to accomplish
on the other side of the hill
understand there will always be more
on the other side
where the fish jump
and the mountains climb
where promises sometimes
fall short
and recklessness
is always welcome

just like sound is neither
past nor present
there is no more tomorrow
there is only the garden



december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

the exorcist


I hadn’t been afraid for so long
that when the inevitable came
knocking at my door
I checked my pulse
and let the shadow in

an eerie thought cooled my palms
and sharpened my eyes
leading me to believe
I was on the verge
of losing my sanity

I issued a self-restraint citation
against my worse judgement
barricading myself
in the confessional
waiting for a priest



december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

bread


you used the serrated knife
to cut thick slices from the loaf
throwing them on old china plates
about the size of your hands

on the last plate you poured
what was left of the virgin olive oil
and commanded everyone
to break bread and breathe again





november two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

intervention


i should have put myself
in a position to save him
should have thrown differences aside
and made a case for rising
to the occasion

held back by clear skies
i kept to my routine
realizing he probably was right
this business of saving
is misunderstood

october two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

chapter two


i applied for fortune
but none was granted
and i alone sought justice
for this slight

traveling the earth
i refocused my energies
seeking wisdom
beneath the rock of ages
praying for maturity
to never surrender

october two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

the flood


and the water fell
pounded upon the earth
relentlessly cleansing
the planet for centuries
forcing god’s children
to reinvent themselves
yet another time


october two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

sunset


faces of friend and foe
come and go
but i must live on
using my own eyes
to scan the universe
and examine my soul

i hear of things
both good and bad
from those i think i know
but i am not to judge
what is not mine
for i must deal
with eternity
on my own terms

i imagine what happens
in three dimensions
will take on new meaning
once riding my pale horse
off into the sunset


september two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

lost in translation


simplicity evades the thinking
of human governance
as man-made disasters
leaves every nation’s people
weeping
and calling
for answers to coexistence

halfway across the planet
voices can be heard
carried across tradewinds
as ancient as the book
protesting
and pleading
to be heard and understood


september two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

children of the light


we danced in the rain
beneath the streetlamp
our minds drifting
past the invisible moon
into carelessness

we lived in a place
without birth or death
a visual paradise
where angels in the sky
longed to touch down

at night we chanted
for the moon and rain
to call the children
hiding beyond the light
to dance
and dance again


august two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

awakening


flatfooted on the edge
of a supersized
new york city highrise
i calmly stand tall
like an olympian diver
slowly rising to her toes
before falling into twisted
recollections of fetal positions
and outstretched arms
a trail of shuttering thumbnails
racing faster and faster
until forever buried
below the water’s wake



august two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Racing Toward the End


What goes on down here sometimes doesn’t make sense;
seems we’re all running around doing a bunch of nothing,
like buying Gold or picking up a 30 pack on the way home.

Just about everyone’s got an agenda these days;
some like to push theirs where they don’t belong,
others keep them propped to their ear when behind the wheel,
while the silent majority keep it to themselves
like it’s some big secret.

Everything is so plugged in that when the electricity fails
chains of events lead to even bigger headlines
such as “Man loses dog.”

Now that we number seven billion it’s high time
we call back Einstein, maybe even Darwin,
ask them to figure out how to get out of this mess
before something really serious happens.



july two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Under the Influence of God


Armed with knowledge and truth
angels wander along a rocky coast
occasionally glancing
at the multi-colored sky
breathing in virgin air
and tasting salt-water
from a never-ending sea
that crashes and rolls onto itself
and toward those who wait
with extraordinary patience
for their time to be called



march, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Before the First Frost


Whispers could be heard
Beneath the leaves
The ones fallen seasons ago
When there was no reason
To believe time would ever end

Softly worded thoughts
Seemed to travel close to home
Yet when trying to pinpoint
The source it became clear
It was something universal

Out of disharmony beautiful
Music seemingly appeared
Played by angels pretending
To be popular nestled
Comfortably in the backyard
On a cool autumn evening





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

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