jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Nature”

13 Oct 2022
1 Comment

little rainbows deep inside the forest


we were in the forest
walking on eggshells
fingers pointing at all the
colorful edibles
off limits this time of the year
decreed by the queen herself

the forest wasn’t petrified
instead shrinking
year over year over year
sand & sea by east
strawberry fields by west
both advancing
slowly but deliberately
—lured by the magical mushrooms
deep inside the forest





october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
12 Oct 2022
2 Comments

on the peninsula


in the great wide open
cinnamon & rose-colored horses
gather near a natural pier
murmuring to one another
about rebellion

they realize they’re wild
but not free
not like the prevailing winds
which seem to commandeer
the next tempest

subsequent to each run
the herd becomes thinner
the law of attrition
taking its toll
the natural order of things
galloping at high speeds
long past rising
and now in a freefall





october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
09 Oct 2022

classic sunrise


nothing comes to mind
as the sun rises undeterred
provoking birdsong
nervous anticipation
and artificial light

the forecast calls
for isolated bombings
and more terrorist attacks
the kitchen radio
unable to locate a station





october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
07 Oct 2022

supernatural conventions


death hangs in the balance
like a bat hanging upside down
is it an animal or a human
in disguise

breaking natural laws
in supernatural conventions
undetectable to the human
but not the bat

awakening by signals
inherited from the sun
guided by a waning moon
long forgotten





october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
06 Oct 2022
1 Comment

something to believe in


the brook has dried up
courtesy of an angry sun
that which used to babble
has grown silent
what once was something
to believe in
now a distant memory

prisoners in chains
march along the dry bed
littered with rock & bone
and unmitigated misery
collecting pieces of a past
now fully exposed
where water once flowed





october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
12 Sep 2022
2 Comments

the curse of the autumn rose


it sits there mostly indisposed
the patience that is death
awaits us without detection
carries on like a muted songbird

in the endless dream
death is nothing to be feared
the ancient moon cycling peripherally
offering to keep you near

nothing is left behind
for death is indiscriminate
& those who mourn
shall always be mourned
& they who stay forever cursed





september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
11 Sep 2022
5 Comments

the spirit guide


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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
30 Jul 2022

by land or by sea


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

Posted in Animals, Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
28 Jul 2022

watering selected recollections


a child on tiptoes
an empty pail by her side
neck bending backwards
one hand reaching for a butterfly
the other clenching a piece of sky

it’s the things you recall
that easily survive below the surface
says the voice soundlessly
the one growing restless from time to time
secretly reliant on its counterpart

carrying the pail of water
from the well at the top of the hill
the child could never be more real





july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
25 Jul 2022

where the gods that be


forget about schooling
it feels like we’re taking
nothing but tests
one after the other
a good three years now
time & place popularly
known as alien nation
where the gods that be
pick & choose their own fights
cast out into the stars
only to reenter the barrier
[by way of meteorites]
spreading their petty hostilities
throughout all the lands





july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
20 Jul 2022

for as long as it takes


you put a few pieces together
and then you move on
incapable of finishing what you started
disrupted by the forces that be
either generated here on earth
or from far away dimensions

you don’t know where to go
on any given day
drifting like a grey ghost in
a technicolor world
chasing rainbows without end
ruby-throated beauties without song

what remains is what grows
this much we all know
and so let’s dig instinctively
mimicking the flying queen
burrowing not too deep underground
for as long as it takes





july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
28 Jun 2022
3 Comments

first date


it’s surreal she said
and she wouldn’t move on
she just stayed there
mesmerized at the black
& red oval (maybe triangular) thing
that may or may not have been
a ladybug

it’s a ladybug I say
let’s move on

the hell she says
a ladybug
are you fucking serious
—okay I’ll catch up with you later





june two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
20 May 2022

miracle of a blue moon


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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
10 May 2022
2 Comments

at the end of the drought


the act of attrition
not quite the same thing
a personal sort of process
when left talking
to yourself

it’s been as many years
as there are
days in the week
since my last obituary
ghostwritten of course
and predated
elsewhere in the clouds

I like to hang out there
when I’m at my lowest
knowing it’s a mere matter of time
before I fall down like rain
hours upon end





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
24 Apr 2022

missing the ocean & the moon


out of nowhere a cat cries
and a squall comes to light
sudden hail & rainfall
winds sweeping away
the sweet sunshine

the whole town
drowned in alcohol
the news reporters unable
to get the story right
misunderstanding
the underlying premise
how the good graces would
have them flower again





april two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
21 Apr 2022

post winter volunteer


an uninvited guest
how can there be such a thing
a girl of color no less
her face velvety & somewhere
between blue & violet
the color of radiance trapped
inside her eyes
as if she was born yesterday





april two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →