jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Dreams”

07 Jul 2016

two steps back


it was like a dream
there was concrete and many
shades of blue
I was trying to free myself
from a predicament
that had nothing to do with you

and so I crawled away
while you sailed interstellar space
not even bothering to write
(even when you had the time)
your vibe slowly fading
like a september sunflower

it was only a matter of time
before I caught up to you
(is what I kept telling myself)
but then I was yanked away
(yet again) by a jealous entity
determined to rattle
the coins out my pocket
and send me back two steps
to see where I went wrong


july two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
02 Jul 2016
4 Comments

delayed due to rain


we thought we’d stay awhile
and savor the moment
but then the rains came

I grabbed your hand
and we fled as fast as our
legs could possibly go

once under the bridge
we calmed our breathing
holding each other for dear life

dreaming on a bed of rock
your beating heart
kept perfect time with mine


july two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
27 Jun 2016
6 Comments

home on a monday


it’s after eight o’clock
and you’ve yet to call
my mind drifting
heart barely beating

the weekend it seems
never really existed
was merely reality
wrapped in a dream

all the miles recorded
by air and land and sea
play back repeatedly
like a silent movie

perhaps I forgot to say
I’ll be home by monday
or perhaps never said
exactly where I’d be


june two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
30 May 2016
3 Comments

aspiring to the romantics


there’s a poem I’ve been meaning
to write
wading in the back of my mind
has completed itself so many times
in reveries I don’t remember

I recall the color of your eyes
gift wrapped
and full of surprises
how they came to me
unexpectedly in a dream
now etched as a mere memory

there is always room for romance
or so the poets taught me
as long as it comes naturally
for pursuing the unattainable
is no longer an option
not as long as your one true love
has regrettably since moved on


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
16 May 2016
10 Comments

testing testing one two sleep


in the dream I am running further
and further away from my home
fully aware that whatever
is on my tail is no longer

I awaken on sunday morning
in my downtown office
dressed in shorts and a tie
swearing to myself
the air smells like a lie

a close friend I had yet to meet
stares into a personal device
telling me to walk this way
and I follow like a man in a trance
at six sixty-six in the morning

the streets are crowded with faces
staring inside their own hands
mindlessly ringing up stores sales
while the lights on every bank
on every street corner go dark

this is all impossible I say to myself
and as I start my long trek home
I’m confronted by an old pair
of nicely dressed nutcrackers
informing me there is no way out


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
03 May 2016
3 Comments

and all that was meant to be


these precious days pass by
like a picture book dream
featuring rolling hills and
psychedelic fields
filled with buttercups
and honeybees

diving off a mountain bluff
you slowly descend
circling an umbrella of trees
guided by a willful power
taking you to the stream

alone you stand calling out
without saying a word
and all that was
and all that was meant to be
filters through your sparkling eyes


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
14 Jan 2016
6 Comments

all alone inside the big house


I woke up to what sounded like
faint laughter coming from the living room

of course I could have been dreaming

I lay in the dark fully awake and surprisingly
at ease
just waiting to hear more laughter

the blinds were drawn but I knew damn well
it was still cold and dark outside

I looked at my wrist watch and wondered
if it had snowed

and then suddenly
the laughter came again
this time livelier and from multiple sources
much louder than the laughter
that had initially stirred me

(the big house makes many sounds anymore
now that I am the only one left)

I wondered if they had found the goods
stashed inside the walls
and false ceiling
wondered if they had found the mind-altering
substances that left me paralyzed
and perfectly at peace


january two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
10 Nov 2015
2 Comments

A World I Once Knew


You sneak in and out of my dreams
like the sleeper catcher that you are
disappearing through star-studded walls
where you count beads on chains
and crawl on hands and knees

Of course I have no choice but to proceed
gathering crumbs along the way
cursing underneath my breath
sniffing and tasting supersonic vapor trails
you left streaming across the universe

Out beyond the planets I skip and stride
drawing pictures by connecting dots
you threw onto a blank canvas
twinkling lights redefining
what was once simply dark matter

The band on my wrist flashes and vibrates
attempting to awaken me hours before
my scheduled flight back home
somewhat smart and mechanically sound
designed to erase a world I knew by heart


november two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
12 Jul 2015
3 Comments

beautiful loser


the iceman cometh on broadway
is how I understand it
on stage or in some city park
brought back to life by an imagination
starving for attention

I swear I heard the radioman
repeating the iceman will cometh
to a theater near you

they dug him out of a hole
created back in 1782
apparently buried deep inside
where the frozen ocean
meets the rock

they revived him time and time
again
and each time
he lost a little more of his life
deprived of dreams and oxygen
that would one day save his life



july two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
09 Jul 2015
4 Comments

passing the torch


if the birds don’t rule this world
nobody knows who does

they fly in and out of dreams
as if they had been here before

first to awaken they stir the frost
with slow motion wings
opening promises above the clouds

in prehistoric times they fed without
fear of twenty gauge buckshot

back in the future they learn
to penetrate outer atmospheres

they’ve seen it all and they pass their
knowledge onto future generations
long after migrating from this world



july two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
23 Jun 2015

The Pretender


I left all these little clues where you could
find me hiding in the strangest of places
sometimes squeaking quietly like a mouse
nibbling on a morsel of cheese
casting a tiny shadow against the white curtain
other times banging pots and pans
at the break of dawn
in an otherwise empty kitchen
while you were upstairs fast asleep
my reckless display was just part of a nightmare
you could never quite piece together

During the workday when the house was lifeless
I would rummage through your old vinyls
singing as loudly as my lungs would allow
somehow knowing nobody within in a million
miles would be able to hear me

When you finally came home I was too weary
to make an effort to be noticed
could barely stand to see you so worn out
so I would wander a few hours between the walls
pretending they were part of an intricate maze
pretending I still belonged outside of them
pretending you were not as sad as it seemed



june two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
10 Jun 2015
8 Comments

walking out of the wood


the trail started centuries ago
I could see it in my sleep
countless times
could feel it beneath my feet
step by step
weaving through rocks and streams
familiar faces diminishing
and reappearing in the wood
like angels and fairies and elves
encouraging me to proceed
perhaps protecting me
leading me past the rustic gates
introducing far-reaching fields
where the sharpest of barbed wire
could not deter me from
entering your sacredly wild dreams



june two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
07 Jun 2015
10 Comments

Sunday Driver


It was a Sunday and the air conditioner
decided to stop working in my
1999 Aurora

I had been traveling from small town
to small town along
highway 13
convinced I would know exactly where
I was going once I got there

the price of gasoline was much cheaper
today but I already had a full tank

there was a rattle coming from the trunk
and I kept thinking I should stop to find out why

the cubs/cards game was mostly
static on the am radio
and I had no idea who was losing

there was a sign on mile marker 66
warning against picking up hitchhikers
and it was then I realized
I would soon find purpose to my day



june two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
30 Apr 2015
4 Comments

the doll maker


eyes sewn shut
hair in disrepair
ruby-red lips fading
arms wrapped around knees
like a frightened child

screaming is not allowed
but neither is whispering
pursed lips at times
relax and smile
but only with permission
only with permission

sitting atop shelves
stuffed in shoe boxes
incomplete conceptions
dream to be rescued
from behind closet doors



april two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
28 Feb 2015
3 Comments

from outside the canopy


from what I remember a tire swung
from the rafters from inside the barn
the motion putting me to sleep
safely wrapped and held in arms
I loved but would not know

the difference between reality
and dreams remain indistinguishable
from the night or morning lights
arms swinging from the canopy
rocking me endlessly to sleep





february two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
22 Feb 2015
8 Comments

wherever I may roam


in my place it’s so quiet
I can hear them performing upstairs
to an empty venue
reciting words or strumming chords
leg wrestling or listening to music
or simply adjusting
sitz bones on wooden chairs

outside their windows
a modest breeze animates life
young leaves sway slowly
keeping time with wooden
and ceramic and metallic chimes
while arms reach out and stretch
to catch a moment in time

one by one they escape
down the patchwork trellis
their voices hushed and excited
pitching a new game where
they scatter off forever and a day
only to reconnect back upstairs
whenever least expected



february two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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