jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Nature”

11 Oct 2017
7 Comments

turning clouds into monsters


november monsters hide behind october bushes
their passive aggressive breathing giving rise
to a once low lying morning fog

there is passion beyond the hills
if you can ever get past progressive barriers
whether physically constructed or simply imagined

shallow heartbeats gradually acquire momentum
approaching like a lackadaisical thunderstorm
clapping along a spacious prairie

of course you’ve been here before
countless times either in this world or the next
perhaps ages ago when monsters could be trusted



october two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
10 Oct 2017

telephone lines


they spoke to one another by way of make-believe telephone lines
not at all like two tin cans connected by a piece of string
stretching from easter island to omnipresent moon

blessed is she who shakes off advances and terms of endearment
instead recognizing all the misfits on the receiving end
reinventing children’s games with wild abandon

and of course with wild abandon comes boisterous laughter
speeding faster than sound through those make-believe lines
the ones stretched from sea to belly of waning gibbous



october two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
08 Oct 2017
5 Comments

agrarian muses and snow-covered ponds


how your angels sing the blues
atop tarnished ivory arches
interrupting your dreams by
bringing back consciousness

it’s just one more morning waking
up to sunshine and isolation
a single spot on google earth
a farmhouse
a mile in from gravel road aptly
named rabbit run

though unsure how you arrived
you’ve no intention of straying far
and on days to come find yourself
roaming fields in dead of winter
not a soul around for miles
and miles and miles



october two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
01 Oct 2017
2 Comments

breaking the speed of sound


forest edge is like the end of the world
as sure as you step one foot inside
you will never be the same

what roams the perimeter can be
seen during twilight
eyes flickering like candle tips
tap-dancing to the wind

invisible hand latches onto yours
hurling you high above using
supernatural powers
and suddenly you are soaring
tall like the trees
headlong and arms outstretched
hellbent on breaking the barrier



october two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
26 Sep 2017
7 Comments

winter on our continent


heavy is the rain falling on disquieted river
awakened from a disturbing dream
troubling and bone-chilling
springing forth afterburning energy
recycled into virgin snow
gently blanketing mountaintops



september two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
20 Sep 2017
7 Comments

heartbreak and misery


castaway doves pick at debris
stretched across the beach
turning white into off-white
and sunsets into nothing

groups of people walk along
waving trash pickers & grabbers
like out-of-control metal detectors
stashing treasure into potato sacks

the fog used to roll in here
like clockwork every foggy morning
setting the tone for an uneventful day
but now all we are left with is this
god-forsaken sun





september two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
19 Sep 2017
2 Comments

bitter creek


bitter creek flows through quiet earth
shaping butterflies and recycling tales of
rivers carving out new tomorrows

peyote blossoms flourish on the border
desert beauties dispensing spiritual guidance
sometimes influenced by bitter creek

old-school artisans steal from night sky
charting reflections onto banks of bitter creek
exposing black cats and neon damselflies

this place comes and goes as she pleases
tricking and mimicking and repeatedly born again



september two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
16 Sep 2017
8 Comments

suddenly there is no tomorrow


my feet are hurting but my heart
is beating just fine
it may have skipped
once or twice or trice
simply by finding you here

we always look forward to october
though hate to see september
slowly burning in rearview
like those hybrid pumpkins
glowing in the twilight

there are no perfect days
but the harvest moon
is as cool as cool can be

and you kiss me unexpectedly



september two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
05 Sep 2017
3 Comments

eternity’s breath


waxing gibbous on chilly night
reddish-orange and
taking center stage
her breath barely visible
to the naked eye

december sun is never overrated
though at times plays second fiddle to
low-lying celestial occurrences
you swear you should be able to touch

flashing satellites mimic wishes
made every single night
like lost thoughts in the northern sky
they fade and brighten
alternatively



september two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
31 Aug 2017
10 Comments

commissioned to the colorful meadow


when I reached one hundred years
there were no celebrations
for the world was at war yet again

though unable to wield bow & arrow
I could still shoot a rifle
I tried to explain to the chieftain
but he pushed me aside
and called for the next in line

three days passed
and I showed up yet again
this time with shovel in hand
explaining how a man my age
could still dig graves

he kissed me on both cheeks
first this one and then the next
followed by shouting out
my marching orders




august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry, War Poems and tagged ,
29 Aug 2017
8 Comments

an existence poem


consider the rose bush

it may certainly grow wild
and flourish without human eyes
ever able to enjoy

of course it may also be tamed
tendered by clipping and
feeding and taking pictures
preparing for the cold by cutting
back in late autumn
waiting for its resurrection come spring

motion pictures move both ways
but mostly forward
and mostly quickly
until caretaker is either naturally
gone or simply taken out

suddenly the manicured rose bush
is left to fight the winter alone
while the (aforementioned) wild one
probably continues to flourish





august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
26 Aug 2017
10 Comments

promise not to die


there was scattered lightness
creeping through low lying clouds
but not a witness to testify

darkest part of morning awakens
most everybody asleep inside boxes
lost inside other lands
or sleepcrawling upside down

wake up wake up barn owl cries
mocking the mockingbird
circling rustic citadel
once holding some significance

sometimes scattered lightness
never materializes
and there is this retreatment of sorts
like closing your eyes
promising to never open them again





august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
23 Aug 2017
2 Comments

august morning noon and night


how long this will last
easily resolves itself
these cool august nights

there is no mood here
shut down for the summer
except for green grass
growing incrementally taller

where there were once battles
now reside flowering meadows
rainbow colors stretching skyward

and what was once thought
to be paradise
is unable to reconcile itself
reduced to ashes
starting anew





august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
19 Aug 2017

beyond mesopotamia


it’s simple to snap a number four pencil
anyone of us could do it at any given moment

odds are slim to be sure since most of us
would simply give it a good sharpening

but those who wouldn’t think twice
they’ve been failed by far too many
flanked on either their left or their right

some say hatred is something learned
but truth be told has lingered in our DNA
well before the dawn of civilization

we’ve been playing catch up ever since
scratching out commandments and
condemning the damned before ever born



august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
14 Aug 2017
2 Comments

weathercock


break of dawn rooster crows
ushering in wintry winds
twisting and turning atop the barn
singing bye bye american pie

fog rolls in and tractors stay put
weatherworn eyes cautiously shut
waiting for any ultraviolet rays
to jumpstart his lonely heart

nary an audience in sight he croons
anthems and ballads and rhythm & blues
hitting high notes with precision
ofttimes bellowing like a baritone

dealing in world real or imagined
winds come and go without reason
contemplating rain or sunshine
always searching beyond the skyline



august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
11 Aug 2017
13 Comments

mister moon and me


I hadn’t noticed how much the moon
had changed in such a short period of time
and I was beginning to believe
perhaps it was I evolving even faster

I told my daughter the other day
I wasn’t the same person from ten years ago
and as she nodded in agreement
I wasn’t sure she truly believed me

I keep sticking my hands in my pockets for
no particular reason
and everytime I bring them back out
I look at them in complete amazement

I remember as a child I would play in the bathtub
with armies and fishes made of soap
and after a while I would exclaim
look mom I have old man hands again

now the moon is the oldest man I’ve ever known
and I tell myself I will get there one day
as long as I don’t lose sight of its wonders
and the all possibilities it displays




august two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,

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