jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Dreams”

24 Jan 2015
2 Comments

I lost a day and found everything


time machine on four wheels
fueled by some kind of natural gas
yet to be mined or refined
sent me on backward courses
destined to make me believe
in new definitions

there is something to be found
where you least expect
especially when weaving in
and out of byways and highways
genuine or imaginary or
in the design phase

bracing for impact I wasn’t
sure if I was exiting or entering
my man-made machine
simple and complex and
able to travel everywhere
in a matter of seconds



january two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
19 Nov 2014
2 Comments

impossible to stay on top


apparent victors come and go
just like their opposites who crawl
and walk and run behind the scenes
climbing mystical mountains and
sailing impossible dreams
asked to start fires
put out fires and
catapult fireworks into the night
fallout from the blasts twinkling
like a dying star
consumed by the unseen



november two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, History, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
01 Nov 2014
7 Comments

blue skies and pink slips


late afternoons
sitting at the desk
facing the side window in the sweaty efficiency
drinking mickey’s malt liquor
and banging on the smith corona
I hardly notice the oscillating fan impersonating
a little robot stuck on a floor board
can barely hear the radio putting out music
or airing another baseball game

outside
the neighbor’s black lab patrols the fence line
barking indiscriminately

blank pages
enter the rollers and withstand
a barrage of pelted bars
launched by levers by way of fast fingers
fanciful ribbons turning pure white sheets into
paperless dreams creasing and
folding and pretending to be airplanes

so many summers ago
I launched countless letters into the jetstream
some struggled to make it out alive
others fading with the setting sun
a few lucky ones breaking the outer atmosphere
only to crash and burn inside wire baskets



november two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
21 Sep 2014
6 Comments

I dream alone


I swear I was wide awake
and drinking heavily
toasting george thorogood
and his glorious destroyers

we polished off the pony keg
a few hours before
moved on to bourbon and scotch
knowing there was more
rhythm and blues to be heard

later into the night we
found ourselves securely insane
in the backseat of an orange
nineteen sixty-seven mustang

we pretended to be carrying contraband
deep inside enemy lines

halfway across the centennial bridge
we empowered the traffic
to stop (with our minds)
and I jumped and shouted obscenities
and escorted my party to the other side

scaling the eight foot tall fence
I swore I was on top of the world

(reaching back I surrendered my weapon)

free of such burden I would soon realize
I always dreamed alone



september two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
20 Aug 2014
8 Comments

all alleys lead to sand & saltwater


walking away from the sunset
shopping for the next place to sleep
eyes remain optimistic of a tomorrow
promising pay

all alleys in this pacific coast city
lead to sand & saltwater
along the way housing is made from
cardboard & wire & unfinished dreams

familiar hopeful faces
unite and welcome the wonders of the day
their hands busily preparing
to feed five thousand





august two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
09 Aug 2014
17 Comments

miracle


I smelled what I thought were freshly
cut roses
the color red I imagined
softly brilliant in slender glass vase

I felt the velveted petals between
thumb and finger
reminding me of feathers
I once patiently nurtured back to flight

I heard the beating of a restless heart
pressed against
innocent skin exposed to light
newly created and wrinkled in fear

I dreamed of tasting a perfect fruit
innocently sweet
and promising flawless eyes
witnessing unimaginable happenings



august two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
21 Jul 2014
14 Comments

when young he dreamed of touching the sky


when pretending to sleep in the crib
many friends of the family
came and went
commenting about this and that

my conscience told me this is exactly
how it will be in the end

bored from all the attention
I fell asleep and
dreamed of becoming the man
who lived to touch the sky




july two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Jun 2014
4 Comments

true interpretations


it rained all night
and while I slept sharks
swam in circles around my body
either protecting me from myself
or saving me for later

awakened by wind sweeping in
morning sunshine
I took to the kitchen
coffee maker abuzz
birds of the air outside my window
like chatty statuettes
swapping old stories

settling back into real-time solitude
I revisit casualties
both foreign and domestic
making headlines on print and
television and internet
their bodies dead or dying
my prayers hoping they find
doves soaring on the other side

unable to shake the current
course of events
I stare into my oversized cup
of morning petroleum
dorsal fins circling above the surface
daring me to find out the true
interpretation to my dream


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Nature, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , ,
21 Jun 2014
6 Comments

in this land of make-believe


these dreams go beyond make-believe
and into spaces without stars
where coldness goes unnoticed
and past lives become memoirs

as I lie asleep out at sea
you seem to disappear along the shore
consumed by ultraviolet rays
disguised as gently rolling waves

cradle rocking from side to side
foreign voices tell me not to cry
assuring me things will be all right
once understanding how it ends





june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
12 Jun 2014
6 Comments

pushing and pulling


it’s so dark I can’t even see my fingers
so cold cannot feel my heart

machines hum along in the white room
giving me fresh air and influencing my dreams

what nobody knows
       is when I’ll be home
or when I’ll be able to say
       I remember everything

(due to atmospheric disturbances
summer never arrived)

crawling through the rubble
my fingertips make rocks sound like glass
rubbing against themselves like butterfly wings

scratching below the surface
I give inspiration to newly awakened lives




june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged ,
17 May 2014
4 Comments

somebody’s going to die in the land of fools


tower guards flash spotlights
across the desert sky filled with zeppelins
searching for someplace to hide

the wreckage in the field goes unnoticed
for nearly a fortnight

by the time help arrives nothing is out of place

ever since
black sheep wander the land of fools
where someone is certain to die
any given night
slaughtered by supersonic streams of consciousness
running artificial red lights





may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
12 May 2014
4 Comments

designer drugs


we pump ourselves up with artificial
intelligence designed to make us fly by
unnoticed and unashamed
turning our dreams into newsflashes
made to fizzle in the dark
leaving everyone wondering
exactly what went wrong



may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
10 May 2014
6 Comments

The great virtue of compassion


I returned to earth as an underfed
infant in a remote village
where nurses are plenty
and painted-face doctors
routinely perform miracles

Years later my dying mother
begged me in a language
I barely understood
to escape the poverty this
barren land provided and
seek refuge in the golden city

As I traveled by foot from
desert town to desert town
visions of previous lives
entered my waking dreams
detailing how I had traveled
this road centuries ago
comforting all who hungered
by first feeding their minds


may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
16 Apr 2014
7 Comments

behind the alibi


alone I wander the sea
of dreams
just me and my alibi
and yellow submarine

beneath the depths of
deserted space
shooting stars sail on
outside the alibi

old borders collapse
new realities emerge
compressed and
submerged
and living a new lie





copyright j matthew waters
april two thousand fourteen
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
01 Feb 2014
2 Comments

slow motion


an inside energy aspires foreign
motivation
to locate new places for
cool isolation
working on remedies
to century-old habits

inside this allusion the mind’s
eye flits
like a butterfly
along winding stone steps
digressing into a deepening
pool of true change

even while away the doubts remain
false distractions replace
memories of sure
familiar space

progression continues on time
unchanged
the path homing around
new worlds
unfolding alien landscapes
and welcomed perils

incomplete thoughts bring
incomplete conclusions
halting
progressive forward movements
in favor of slow motion replays



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
19 Jan 2014
10 Comments

olfactory arousal


strips of bacon appeared
in my high-definition dream
alongside ripened tomatoes
farm fresh eggs
and quarter pound cheeseburgers

I could hear them pop and sizzle
in their own searing grease
could smell the sweetness
originating from the kitchen
and infiltrating the entire house

pretending I’m fully awake
I tuck a linen napkin
up under my chin
march down the staircase
wielding flatware and a hefty appetite



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,

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