jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Nature”

13 Oct 2014
13 Comments

good riddance to october rain


I don’t remember autumn being this wet
she said

I blinked my eyes and looked outside
thinking to myself what an
absurd thing to say

it’s not that wet I said it’s just an illusion

it’s wet enough they canceled tonight’s
baseball game she said

real men play in the rain I said

you’re an idiot she said and walked away

I raised my glass and made a silent toast
to rid the world of absurdity
and rainy october nights




october two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
20 Sep 2014
11 Comments

her world as she knew it


they say there is no setting
or rising of the sun
they say it is always there
and it’s just your imagination
that sometimes it is not

with that in mind I stood at the
doorstep and handed a child
paper and markers and
asked her to interpret the
world as she knew it

from inside her mind she drew
countless circles orbiting
infinite stars
and every now and then
she placed a new moon
where you’d least expect it

I wondered how many of her
suns supported life as we know it
and as I was about to ask her
she told me she needed
more space and time



september two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
09 Jul 2014
13 Comments

nature over portrait


running through fields with
raised nets and breathable lids
atop glass jars
we chase down dreams
and stow away
childhood memories
unaware one day our hidden
beauty will be unveiled





july two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, 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 , , , , ,
09 Jun 2014
7 Comments

Watching a Petal


With exact timing the rain-soaked branchlet
released water-droplets; while below
a soft, geranium petal strained to reach
the four o’clock sun, its efforts deterred
by a consistent explosion of sorts.


originally penned circa nineteen ninety-two
audio recorded june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
07 Jun 2014
3 Comments

spider queen


santa ana winds fan
the flames and further
separate the queen
from her entourage

armed with rain clouds
pawns venture in unafraid
questing to rescue the
queen of the stone age

her king relocates castle
closer to the shoreline
petitions clergymen
for a wing and a prayer

backed into a corner
queen abandons her netting
races with her babies
spraying pepper mace


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
06 Jun 2014
2 Comments

ode to the sea bird


bird of prey
invisible in flight
dies a hero’s death
rises on the other side

bird renewed
transgressing in time
dives past new moons
attacks as meteorites

bird of the ark
born inside a lab
circles among the clouds
destined to find land


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
08 May 2014
2 Comments

a moveable boulder


sometimes by millimeters
other times by inches the boulder
moved closer to the edge

over time the river carved
new pools out of wind and rain
recreating and repeating itself
reinventing the landscape via
natural courses of events

all the while the boulder
followed along the bank
like an intricate mechanism
inside a priceless chronometer
powered by the sun and destined
to witness the end of time


may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
28 Apr 2014
7 Comments

Sugarcane


Acres of sugarcane slowly
burn from manmade fires
designed to consume
dry leaves and deadly snakes
before the open fields
are methodically cut with
machine-like men wielding
cane knives and machetes

Such worldwide crops become
building blocks for molasses and
rum and fuel for third world engines
but when refined and shaped
into bite-sized cubes
become dropped and stirred
into coffee and tea
oftentimes popped
directly into childrens’ mouths




rewritten april two thousand fourteen
original dated october two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
06 Apr 2014
14 Comments

blue river


I wandered down to the river
where the rolling rock
segues into a row of willows
settled inside the shadows
and wished my blues away

dark clouds gathered ‘round
blanketing the sunshine
casting sheets of rain upon the river
purposefully rhythmical
yet without any reason

eyes surrendering to gravity
I spread my body across the ground
like an angel with torn wings
dreaming within the willows
in every single color except blue





april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
30 Mar 2014
7 Comments

narcissus


show me something pretty
she said
something that will make me smile
and say oh my
the world is so wonderful

I drew a daffodil
emerging from an inch of snow
her golden inflorescence in
stark contrast to the dilapidated
barn in the background

she’s perfect she said
but I’m saddened
nobody in the world
except herself
will behold her beauty




march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
14 Mar 2014

to the queen’s rescue


court jester hoists me up
far enough
my hands grasping the bow
feet skimming along the bark
stepping vertically until
finding myself in seated position
like a fisherman

from there I cast my line
past the edge
hook motioning like a pendulum
butterfly bait caught in
capillary branches
fluttering and struggling
to belabor a million breaths

crawling out on bloodline branch
the fate of coin weighs
heavily upon a commoner’s quest
either flipping and falling
straight to the ground
or forever hailed as the
queen’s guardian angel


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march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
01 Mar 2014
2 Comments

the ides of march is near


they say march can be a lion
some say she’s gentle like a lamb
I say she’s no different
than I’ve ever known her
all my years living in this land



march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
15 Feb 2014
7 Comments

crossing over to life


I had no idea I crossed over to life
that day you set me free from
centuries of rest

you said I was a sleeping giant
but I only saw myself
as uncharged atoms
floating randomly through darkness

standing at the center of attention
you raised your hands
and opened them upward
towards the sun
delivering unto the gods
the light that was once my life



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
14 Feb 2014
16 Comments

on valentine’s day


love is like an open prairie
self-sufficient and showcasing
every true color this world has to offer
weaving blankets of warmth on
cool autumn evenings
and providing shade to weary souls

love is like the birds of the prairie
welcoming each day with
songs of praise
awakening the flowers whose petals
unfold and open their hearts
without a single solitary condition





february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
31 Jan 2014
10 Comments

everywhere to be found


we searched
under rock and earth
and alongside the water’s edge
where the dying winds
welcomed the night

without a trace
you escaped the city
headed for a restless countryside
offering perspective
to tired old bones

in the woods
echoes follow every
footfall and heartbeat and thought
reshaping consciousness
from the very start

signals flare
from rugged elevations
seemingly shooting down stars
much too young to die
let alone live

early morning currents
meander your voice
throughout the valley’s curvatures
barely audible above
forgotten shadows



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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