sometimes they go crazy
for many good reasons
sometimes they rise & fall
faster than a new york minute
but sometimes they go country
none other than to prove
that by tweaking the attitude
just about anything
can be done
march two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there used to be a park there
look at it now
not a single tree stands
the 2.5 acres transitioned
into a living breathing pancake
leveled to the ground
by the stroke of a wand
turning past reality into a
futuristic burial ground
march two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been gathering stones and such
for as long as I can remember
I put them into mason jars
store them in the vacated wine cellar
If I can’t figure out what to do with them all
I’m sure someday someone else will
march two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there was not a chance for rain
but there he was
ambling down third avenue like clockwork
decked out in a three piece suit
and umbrella in hand
(the ladder doubling as a walking stick)
occasionally looking upward at a
limitless blue sky
nary a wisp or puff to be found
march two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
pretend you’re a may beetle
or a june bug
and somehow
you’ve found your wing casings
upside down on the floor
suddenly becoming immobile
now with your legs
in a tabletop position
stretch one out & down & back
repeating & alternating right & left
both arms reaching toward the ceiling
later allowing them to do
what they will
as if you are dying a slow death
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
going off the grid
appears to be
the easiest way to escape
all the violence & insanities
surrounding us
—and even then
even then there’s no guarantee
we’d still be alive
in this war-infested world
yet another year
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Looking outside for hours at a time
he doesn’t understand
what’s happening in Gaza
let alone the entire Canaan territories
he only sees the alien cat colony growing
centrally situated kitty corner from his gaze
seemingly expanding day by day
a band slowly working its way
north by northeast toward Lebanon
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it was half-time at the super bowl
and all the neighborhood kids
could be seen in the courtyard
singing & doing the macarena
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s a paradox
how nothing is new
unless it’s a spring flower
unfolding when nobody
is looking
they say original
ideas no longer exist
they’ve been put to pasture
in the paradox field
far from here
even that smile
I sometimes see you with
is a replica of a paradox
captured long ago
when we were young
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
unseasonably cool
on a sunsetting saturday
european starlings accumulate
atop rows & tiers of downtown parking ramp walls
inviting the attention of passersby
more or less curious
of their rhythmic chatterings
like an orchestra fine tuning
leading up to their eventual shadowing
of the sun
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it took to the air
disappearing like a whisper
it could be anything
a petal a leaf a feather
in the end becoming nothing
save a memory
thoughts escape into thin air
like nessy
or the abominable
whatever happened to
white rabbits & top hats
UFOs or UAPs
—what of entire cities
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they all looked like monsters
even the cute bat/butterfly creature
who should be hanging
upside down
after a pause I wondered
if they thought that I was the monster
—it was about this time I quickly
visualized my escape route
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Behind the big tent
The little boy
Continued to learn
How to command
The juvenile elephant
His truest friend
Since birth
All the while
The juvenile elephant
Felt sorry for the boy
Reciprocating
In her own way
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you ventured quietly into the night
drifting along cemetery trees
planted three lifetimes ago
long before you belonged to a satellite
orbiting an icy world without a name
only to be blown away by a fiery rock
sending you careening on a trajectory
back toward the sun
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
white collar heist
a performing artist
finding vulnerabilities
cracks in walls
a chink in the armor
picking off assets on the net
cash & coins & tokens
slipped into stealth wallets
—they said it had to have been an inside job
had to have been
an inside job
january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
days before the blizzard arrived
I noticed a small family of crows
visiting the neighborhood
leaving me pondering what on earth
they were doing here
having strayed from the larger gathering
that couldn’t have been that far away
—or perhaps they were scouts
in search of a protective copse
capable of holding hundreds
or up to one thousand of their kind
january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 