my tattoo is a barcode
capable of unlocking
the mystery of my sudden death
—it won’t tell you a goddamn thing
as long as I’m still alive &
wearing rainbow sleeves
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
at a loss for words
I shuffle through the junk drawer
looking for nothing
in particular
shaking my head
at all the things
I have no reason to keep
starting to wonder
when the time comes
who will take inventory of them
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you’ve lost yourself again
in the deepness of the woods
where the mind is incapable
of producing concrete thoughts
or having any kind of convictions
overtaken by an energy unseen
and guided by a spirit
that had anticipated your arrival
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Siren after siren after siren
Off in the distance
A constant wailing gradually fading
Sounding like a fire breathing dragon
Dying a slow death
august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
that childhood moment
when you were maybe seven or eight
magically reappearing in your mind
the accuracy of the recollection
of little importance
the images as vivid as the orange
sun sinking into the blue-green sea
the waves crashing the shoreline
tumbling over themselves ad infinitum
somehow making the past
much clearer than the present
leaving you with a slight smile
and a single teardrop
august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we’ve been skipping stones
out of the earth’s atmosphere
and getting much better at it
like across a body of water
the rock will eventually sink
most likely to the bottom
but seriously how much different
can it be from this advantage
compared to way way out there
august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
sometimes you step
backwards to see if it
can still be done
& then I say to you
there you go again
turning back time
how else are we
able to explain
the forces felt
the ones undefined
only occasionally
tugging at our sides
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
what shall we do
after we have seen it all
said the turtle
to the oracle
—shall we sail
far below the ocean
never to be seen
on land again
or shall we continue
to suffer
as we are
pretending all is grand
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how far back can you go
it is possible to make it all the way
back inside the womb
spinning in slow motion
like a cosmonaut
conjuring all the possible ways
—to make it out
once finally let loose
into this godforsaken place
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Even on vacation the bombing
does not cease
heard thousands of miles away
from the glorious oceanfront
morning noon & night
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been waiting for a song
to come my way
one everyone sings along with
offering rhyming references
like kryptonite or doctor killjoy
offering messages I’d like
to understand but cannot
allowing the mind
to escape the body
if only for a few melodic minutes
or an entire lifetime
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they tried telling me
nobody knows what happens
after the lights go out
making me chuckle
beneath my breath
knowing full well the lights
(as long as they’re not man-made)
can’t possibly ever extinguish
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
anything is possible
how many times have you heard this
much like
the sky’s the limit
but that doesn’t make sense
this day & age
just go ask any child
who may effortlessly tell you
the sky’s only the beginning
especially if you’ve happened
to be gunned down way too young
june two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
“You’ve got to have an attitude if you’re going to go far in this game.”
Bob Gibson
He’s gotta keep ‘em off balance
using his head as well as his arm
mixing it up north & east
and west & south
consistently changing speeds
—letting the ball fly from various
release points
and mostly importantly
never showing them
the whites of his eyes
june two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the complete destruction
of the inner self
man-made annihilation of the
third kind
on the verge of reinvention
of inner thought
of stillness & water & ash
a private practice
a near death experience
may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
a sad moon waits
in the wings
the sinking sun
dissolving into
the black sea
— a passing of the torch
or the transitioning of power
from the mighty
to the mysterious
the latter making
men weep
women amassing
on the eastern horizon
bearing absolution
may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 