when you tear
at the flesh
do both ears ring
in a canine kind of
frequency
after the feast
your heart rate slows
breathing shallowly
giving way to other senses
this earth talks
probably way too much
probably because
so few listen
the river did not always
meet the road
—natural bridges
evolving over time
december two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jesse james was a virgo
a creative in his own right
inputting & processing
like nobody’s business
until shot from behind
they say at the end
he had a black cat named
mercury
(it’s a virgo thing)
but that little nugget
never made it
to the mainstream media
november two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
this united we stand business
has long gone by the wayside
factions splitting & dividing
by way of simple arithmetic or
asexual science [depending
how you see things]
hypochondriacs are either
mentally and/or physically unwell
incapable of fending themselves
against any creature great or small
extremists resorting to threats
on any given day
more than willing to follow through with them
capitalists & politicians & criminals
work in concert in the background
spawning one conspiracy theory
after the next
worshiping fanatics & lunatics
shoving them into the limelight
all this
as the artists expressively create
interpreting what they care to see
while the historians
sit & wait
for the next piece to fall
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
he’s not eaten in a while
you can easily tell
legs & arms moving
[as if] involuntarily
shoving into his face
anything he can get
his paws on
hominid or animal
it’s too early to tell
definitely not from
anyone’s locality
having crashed into
the wild wild rainforest
once upon a time
august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the problem with the world today
we’re living in the past
like a smoker who can’t kick the habit
we’re unable to quit killing
whether sanctioned by allegedly legitimate
power brokers
or straight up civilian violence
when I was a kid we played
cowboys & indians
cops & robbers
doctor & nurse
role playing because we were left
to our devices
and our parents bought us weaponry
and any kind of idol we would ask for
on sundays we were reminded how evil
we truly were
and twice or maybe three times a year
we were forgiven all our sins
come monday however
we were right back at it
perpetuating the only thing that made sense
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I don’t feel it today
far from patriotic as I’ve
ever been
driven away by an extremism
I’d no idea existed
in such deep-rootedness
[but of course in retrospect
how could I have not known]
democratic seems to be
more & more like a word anymore
one I came across
when I was naive
& eager to learn
one that I took for granted
like freedom & liberty
whatever the hell those two mean
the killings & the kidnappings
drug dealings & human trafficking
they don’t take a day off
not on sundays when so many
enjoy the democratic sun or rain
and especially not on the
fourth of july
in these united states
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the world has always been a lie
and if you don’t know that as a fact
you’re living an imaginary life
if you follow the money you’ll find the lies
whether in ukraine or tehran
cairo or athens or amsterdam
the korean peninsula or washington dc
gold is still the real deal
but printed money is another lie
fake proceeds pumped into the stock market
simply because it gets high on bloatedness
and loves to implode
the lies are in the grocery stores
in parking lots
pizza places & ballparks
car dealerships & gas stations
the lies are in the air like electricity
almost always for sale
sometimes on the open market
other times in the dark web
june two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s none of my business
about your hash pipe
I wasn’t the one to bring it up
in the first place
back in the day
we’d buy paraphernalia
when shopping for vinyls
mainly at the brady street shop
a block away from central high
[I seem to keep missing all the re-
unions even though I still live here]
next time you’re inside
two hundred miles
shoot me a telepathic note
& I’ll respond pronto
with yet another clue
may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
appearances
how deceiving they may be
like the statue of liberty
standing in the harbor
holding back tears
all these turbulent years
shouldering injustices
handed down
from generation
to generation
ad nauseum
standing at the crossroads
where does she go
from here
may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Forging a new path is rarely easy
as any historian knows
societies flipping on their sides
defying the odds
by way of switching associations
Paying a price is never an option
no matter which side loses
ask any responsible citizen
pledging allegiance
to the latest & the greatest
may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
burning down the forest
doesn’t seem like the right thing to do
whether in times of peace or war
it’s not like you can make carbon copies
of hundreds of thousands of trees
replacing them within a generation or two
after having the enemy succumbed to flames
it’s not like you can stitch & sew time
making it nineteen ninety-nine all over again
before the world became more complicated
than la niña or an impossible crossword
ever since the first shots were fired
blackbirds continue to gather at the border
in numbers innumerable
patiently waiting for all hell to break loose
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
You run into it so many times a day
random thoughts inherited from the dead
uninterested in certain ponderings
the v-shaped flight of geese
rarely symmetrical
those big badass birds
capable of inflicting harm on
unsuspecting gods
Some stories are meant to change
needing a fresh voice
or begging for embellishment
but those incapable of change
man-made conventions
designed to pass the test of time
containing many great truths
& irreversible lies
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been lost before
so this time I’m taking it
all in stride
having recently arrived
in montgomery
this is not the first time
I’ve been down south
and once when I was there
I thought I’d never
make it back alive
history is not on our side
old friend
it seems this time
it’s damn near impossible
for anyone to save us
january two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
We invited the prophet for supper
because we were not afraid
The Father told us about Obadiah
about his warnings of destruction
as a consequence of action
Having become students of the living
and of the dead (and especially of those
capable or rising again) naturally we
were anxious in making a connection
Although we possessed many questions
the most obvious rallied around
his postmodern interpretation
to the Day of the Lord
november two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there is this reality
that we don’t know about
other than through dreams
and from there
we are left in the dark
inside the matrix
is another form of reality
one we rarely get a glimpse of
maybe by way of a dream
inside of a nightmare
it’s like that window
or that mirror
replicating itself ad infinitum
possessing you without question
taking to all the places
you’ve known throughout
the course of human history
in the meantime
(and for some unknown reason)
this present day reality
remains a necessary evil
november two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I won’t be able to return
not without a password reset
the chances of success
appearing to dwindle by the day
The cranes brought forth the wind
by way of their transitory wings
with it the seeds of the wildflower
and the stench of the skunk
The enemy of humanity
persists well beyond Lazarus
giving new names to old towns
and rewriting the course of events
november two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 