jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Nature”

07 Apr 2022

from the book of an arsonist


shadows in the open field
keep running toward the sun
the hair of the ghosts
blowing in the opposite direction
courtesy of westerly gusts

these hills haven’t burned
for more than four centuries
old world ideas rekindling
the adjacent forest
ancient & anxious to impress

a collision is inevitable
the outcome undeterminable
ashes redefining themselves
by way of a circular wind
the scent of the air palpable





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

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

entering the dark moon phase


sometimes it’s about
not even trying
losing yourself like a leaf
loses its birthplace
only to discover
that the letting go
couldn’t have been
any easier

how easy is it for you
to fall to the ground
defenseless
at the mercy of the winds
of fire & rain
the everlasting moon
your only friend
giving & taking light

lightning crashes
dramatic randomness
will you be there
right on the spot
a specific place in time
is it a coincidence
or queer luck of the draw
determined at birth





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Feb 2022

the dream of the wildflower


the fire burns
but does not warm
& I find myself
digressing past oblivion
that place where dreams
replace realistic scenes
ones you’ve not seen
since the start of the
previous season

it was a temporary life
these wildflowers
wrapping them in damp
breathable cloth &
transported with haste
a few precious petals
secured inside
heart-shaped boxes
all others transplanted





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

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
01 Feb 2022

suffocation


crocodile clouds give way
to elephants marching
slowly into the horizon

at times they’re suffocating
pulled down by gravity
& one hundred one kite flyers

catch & release is the game
unable to tame the wild
send them back with fire & fury

what comes around stays
for maybe an eternity
or until the next near extinction





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Jan 2022

heaven on earth


don’t let current events get you down
the world has always been this violent

most of the time we pretend to be safe
in our homes behind locked doors

in the summer windows wide open
curtains waltzing freely
          and in the winter
we keep them shut
feline asleep on the narrow sill
basking in the sun

out of control wildfires
fueled by straight line winds
and hundreds of dream homes
alter the landscape and complicate
the notion of heaven on earth





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Dec 2021

desert sky


we sang with the coyote
their desert song
in the darkness of a
moonless night

do not be sad my love
although the song may fade
the stars are certain
to align again





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
18 Nov 2021

with winter in mind


a full frost moon
rises & grows & shines
through the leafless elms
yawning & stretching
toward the opposite horizon
a dark red sky
overtaking cirrus clouds
gradually fading
into a deep purple
succumbing to the night





november two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
16 Nov 2021

sheltering in the wood


the wind brought the robin’s
farewell song
briskly whistling through
the crabapple tree

high up in the sky
recycled machine parts
fall in a straight line fashion
picking up speed
but not disintegrating

the crabapple attracts
scores of robins
copping a buzz & chattering
like blue-haired biddies
at a mahjong tournament

no matter how fast
the wind blows westerly
it can’t forever prevent the sky
from crashing the party





november two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
22 Oct 2021
3 Comments

clouds as white as elmer’s glue


it’s october again
we start talking about pumpkins
and apple orchards

two miles from the highway
gravel road
sure to make an impact

on this life & the next
a sort of roadmap
linking the planet earth

to some place
we’ve not yet visited
a remote fortress if you will

far from all the madness
happening inside a spinning top
colored ocean-blue & elmer’s glue





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
20 Sep 2021
2 Comments

the reprise of autumn


at some point I will return
& nothing will be as it seemed

highway 52 has since turned green
all the way from cinnamon roll hill
past the flourishing hamlet of saint donut

the river still runs through everything
creating new veins along the way
mainly thanks to the passage of time
existing in the imagination

the rust on the rocks
have long dusted themselves off
& artificial creations
once made to be transparent
have returned to their original
peacock-like colors





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
03 Sep 2021

The Accident


There are no conclusions
only a somewhat consistent restarting
of forward motion

When you die you may hop aboard
The Accident
commuter train filled beyond capacity
traveling ten times the speed
of her nearest competitor

Anyone lucky enough to step inside
will never want to leave
and those who accidentally get thrown
will mysteriously become a failed
star or a forever satellite





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
22 Aug 2021
2 Comments

Catching Poetry by Sunlight


No matter how many times
the story changes
we can never quite make it
out of the woods

Subtle messages
slip through the treeline
by way of sunlight

If we’re lucky we’ll catch
a few more lines
from Snyder or Whitman
or Mary Oliver

And so we listen
with our hearts
& our minds
attempting to capture
that which is given





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
20 Jul 2021

Looking for Christopher Robin


for Aubrey Jean Mayer

We start naming things
out of the clear blue sky
that oak tree is a monkey spider
the park bench
a Tyrannosaurus Rex

I tell you I’m older than those
hills like white elephants
but you shake your head
and say no way
and I say yes way
and you say no way Jose

She says she loves
puzzles & trains whistles
and I say yes I know
walking hand in hand
further inside the
Hundred Acre Wood





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
08 Jun 2021
5 Comments

the quiet earth


the ocean pulls back
& the moon
wanes
unattended smoldering
slowly advancing

call it a slow burn
if you will
call it a cleansing
a purging
fire on the water
strangely inviting

the earth has never
been this quiet
the airwaves nearly vacant
except for what
the stars
& the quasars giveth




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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
05 Jun 2021

lost in late june


it’s late but not that late
the sun nowhere in sight
little ones out back yelling
where did it go
where did it go

nobody knows where the
butterflies went
chased away by roman candles
someone did say
someone did say

lost in deep thought
trapping stars in glass jars
smaller than fireflies
falling from the sky
falling from the sky




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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
26 Apr 2021
2 Comments

outside of the foothold


mushroom hunting & collecting
stones on a sunny
sunday morning

the river runs through this place
you can hear it from
a mile or so away
you can feel it in your veins
your eyes gradually
become clearer

the stones go in the satchel
the mushrooms
in a bucket
luckily either are easier to find
this time around

some of the trails have
started to fill in from lack of
human footsteps
this place slowly becoming
scarier than it seems




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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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