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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the category “Poetry”

02 May 2012
2 Comments

Chicago Fire


Fire fighting aircraft
turn their bellies upward
as they veer away
from the blaze below
their waterbombs
struggling to penetrate
the conflagration
set off days ago
by a strike
from the sky
blasting the Windy City
with wicked veracity
turning human ingenuity
into a flattening incinerator
filled with rubber
and concrete
steel and humanity
stirring dead souls
into vague memories
of eighteen seventy-one


october, two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
02 May 2012
11 Comments

Time in a Bottle


So many years ago I placed the bottle
On a kitchen shelf out of reach
From any of the little ones.

At first a day wouldn’t pass
Without me craving
What was inside
But the urge would fade
Convinced I’d be a better man
For keeping my thoughts
Clean of mean spirits.

As time wore on I flipped through
Photographs of baptisms
And vacations and graduations
Less worried today
About anyone’s safety
Mindful of placing a few calls
On Sunday afternoon.

Sometimes when I sit alone
Rereading novels I first studied
In college I wonder
How alive I’d be
If that bottle
Had ever been emptied.


september two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry
29 Apr 2012
10 Comments

Forever in a Day


Fast asleep by midmorning
I dream of never waking
of sailing past an open sea

My shell is like a water vessel
blending into the horizon
melting into a fiery sun

Transforming into nature
I stay awake forever
casting hope into a dark night


april two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
28 Apr 2012
8 Comments

counting crows


a murder of crows
bide their time
on the outskirts of town
waiting patiently
as the virus
gripped the residents
with fever and fear

death by death
the murder grew larger
their calls becoming
creepingly human
their strategy
instinctively fine-tuned
and well orchestrated

the devastation
never aired anywhere
no mention of crows
nor intelligence
of any pandemic
ever germinating
in an alien field


april two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Animals, Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
27 Apr 2012
2 Comments

freefalling


when the earth fell
i found myself alone;
this new atmosphere
made me nice and warm.

i heard a voice sing
and i knew i wasn’t alone;
with eyes closed
i found new colors.

in the sky i spotted a jewel
fall with an explosion;
the spectacle made me laugh,
helped me move on.


april two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
21 Apr 2012
9 Comments

Where Freedom Flies


Prisoners walked the lily fields
in magnetic boots
picking up pieces of shrapnel
left from centuries of hatred

Misunderstandings on Earth
are as certain as battlefields
unnecessary as bleeding hearts
never truly loved

Children of all civilizations
were fed into the factory
placed in single file lines
and taught elastic freedoms

As the elders grew past death
they’d come to realize
peaceful starships could sail
beyond the sun and back


april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
20 Apr 2012

Inside the City


Inside the city thousands converge
on the open market regardless the weather
The allure is captured in historical relevance
where honest exchanges of trade and art
played out for centuries with civility

At the center of the square an acting troupe
dressed as traditional chess pieces
reenact the ‘56 match between Byrne and Fischer
the characters moving on the checkered stage
as commanded by the intelligentsia

Relaxing on a bench I breath in the city’s past
contemplate how its future could possibly change
A block away a string quartet starts in on Mozart
compelling me to walk among the people
and toward yesterday’s perfection


april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
19 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Mississippi Kid


They kidnapped his woman
from a casino in Biloxi
sent word for a ransom
all the way from Lockhart

Sober and well mended
he packed his horse
for an interstate journey
with his pistols in his pockets

Outside Mobile fresh cornbread
filled the air from a plantation:
a reminder how his woman
used to give him some

Riding through Pensacola
the townsfolk just stared
as he grumbled to himself:
“Nobody dogs me ‘round”

Closing in on the Tri-Cities
he repeated his own motto:
“I was born in Mississippi, baby,
and I don’t take any stuff from you”

With his pistols smoking
and out by his side he sang:
“Down in Alabama you can run
but you sure can’t hide”


april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved


Author’s Note:
The Poem “Mississippi Kid”
is an Adaptation of the song,
Mississippi Kid,
lyrics by Ronnie Van Zant
click here for youtube video

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
17 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Tomorrow’s Dreams


The market doesn’t care
whether your kids are in daycare
or off to college,
could care less
if your car is broken down
or your house payment is late.
It does, however, care what happens
millions of miles away
where armed conflicts,
failing governments
and pandering politicians
wreak havoc
with your monthly budget
and tomorrow’s dreams.


april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged ,
15 Apr 2012
4 Comments

As I Lay Dying


I awaken on a Sunday morning,
head pounding from the 12-hour
drinking binge with a lost friend
I hadn’t seen since college.
Sitting on the end of the bed
I try to remember what I ate for supper,
shake my head when unable to recall.
From where I sit I feel angel eyes
staring at me from around the bathroom door.
Go away! I yell, please go away!
As I lay dying I admit to myself
I won’t be attending Mass today.

april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
14 Apr 2012
8 Comments

Summer of Seventy-Two


The old man whittled
while rocking in a wooden chair
on the front porch
all summer long.

We visited him daily
bringing along a beer or two
we stole from our folks,
watched as he turned pieces of cherry
into chessmen.

In the Spring
he had lost his son to the war;
but in the Summer
he just rocked away
carving and sipping,
providing all us boys the wherewithal
to win the game.


april two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
10 Apr 2012
4 Comments

Careless Whisper


I waited all day to reach out
for your hand
and you accepted
after already dancing
so many songs
in your pretty white dress

Reminiscing on the dance floor
we waltzed effortlessly
to a familiar ballad
our feet light
our eyes lost
as if looking through a mirror





april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
07 Apr 2012
5 Comments

Native Hawk


Soaring lightly
he set his sights
on an unnatural rustle
beneath oak leaves
near the creek’s bend

Circling round
he gradually descends
into a slow spiral
easily snatching
a couple of snacks
for he and his girl

april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
07 Apr 2012
2 Comments

La Niña Redux


The planets were here
Long before good & evil
Long before a whisper
A trillion miles away
Could paint something
As complicated
As the Pacific Ocean
Placed in the middle of somewhere
With its storms & serenity
And undying contradictions


april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
07 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Candles


You can’t leave candles
burning all night,
she said.

It was then
I imagined
how people lived
before Edison.

Are you kidding me?
I asked,
amazed the house
had yet to burn down.


april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged ,
04 Apr 2012

Therapy


I wasn’t scared
just slightly out of it
plus these bloody marys
don’t do anything for me
all day

Later in the evening
reaching for a needle
I sometimes wonder
if Mister Doctor
knows I’ve always
told him the truth

I hear the economy
in Mendocino County
is doing just fine
in my mind
I am already there
tending my own garden




april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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