jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

28 Sep 2020

slingshot


all around us
nothing but subtle changes
you’d think we’d be used to it by now
but there’s no floor or ceiling
and everything in between
seems to be up for grabs

I heard her singing on the radio
for the very first time
enchanting me with promises
and reworking my daydreams
to the point where I’m afraid
to fall asleep at night

it’s as if my inner voice
has been taken hostage
bulleted by rhetorical questions
taking me beyond the beginning
only to have me somersaulting
further into the future




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
27 Sep 2020
5 Comments

choreography


cutting through the noise
we’re going to need more knives
or sharpen the ones having grown
quiet all these years

here can you help me
I’ve more than one honing steel
we can spend the day
talking about the weather
while whetting away

once we’re done
we’ll change into our ninja armor
living by dancing again
wielding our resurrected blades
into the suffocating air




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
26 Sep 2020
5 Comments

before daybreak


I hadn’t realized
it was a moonless night
until hours later sitting
by the bedside
rewrapping my arm

local media announce
half the city is gone
but according to
my own personal math
they’re not even close

in the other room
a candle starts to flicker
and like a man in a trance
I start counting the hours
before daybreak




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged ,
25 Sep 2020

suspending the course of events


reaching higher ground
each & every day

the world keeps spinning
mostly tumultuously

changing views retrospectively
shifting into a lower gear

conserving thoughts
disregarding any kind of counting

getting back to the beginning
I’m told is virtually impossible

you look at me like I’m crazy
as I take the next logical steps




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
24 Sep 2020
2 Comments

selling inheritances


who were you
the man I never knew
sent off to college but never to war
what good did you give to others
when they were down
when in a position
to make a difference

this indifference in men
is as common as the cold
word on the street saying
you happily played your part

but that’s not how you saw it
having never been introduced
to the wide lens

as a blessing or curse
inheritances do not come cheaply
and having nurtured them for so long
you’ve managed to exchange
them all for fools gold




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
23 Sep 2020
2 Comments

what are we dying for


we’ve come to know
there’s more to life than this

and yet here we go
growing tomatoes & making sure
what little grass we have
always looks its best

chomping at the bit
we step on the gas whenever we can
passing long-buried treasure
keeping pace by way the crow flies

depending upon the angle
the sun is always in our eyes

in the meantime we keep inventing
would-be catchphrases
hopeful one day one of them
will make it all the way to the stars




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
22 Sep 2020

in between recesses


green light yellow light red light
oh I saw you move
back to the beginning you go

if only we could go back
the children say
their sterilized fingertips
tapping across the keyboard
headset fine-tuned by mama bear
saying see there
you look just like major tom

red yellow green & blast off
there they go again
tumbling across the wireless lines
often landing outside the crosswalk

meanwhile back at the kitchen table
trixie waits her turn
to show & tell banana’s second cousin
little brother timmy in the background
attempting to lift off
yet another time




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
21 Sep 2020

all kinds of new boxes


back in the day
there was but two or three voices
taking up my cerebral space

over the years they fastidiously
multiplied without anyone’s guess

instinctively I learned to compartmentalize
them on their own terms

to the point where they just sat there
boxed in & seemingly content
to converse with just themselves

fearing I had silenced them once & for all
I thoughtlessly redisclosed the terms
soon thereafter finding myself
recreating new kinds of boxes
each one shaped uniquely
be it made of wood or metal or seashell




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Sep 2020

the old grey whistle test


even the crows seem to be tired
this unusually long summer
their calls traveling less & less

the hours counting down
the shift will be subtle but felt
like that brief pause
at the top of the carnival ride

their feathers become grey
voices more boisterous than before
the sun making its grand return
sparking wave after wave after wave




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
19 Sep 2020

two steps forward


we toast to the bitter taste of success
that fun-filled & fleeting drinking buddy
the one who comes & goes leisurely
each one slightly different than the last

we talk how the city managed to move
the library three blocks from the river
a feat done in months would have taken
years just a few short centuries ago

flipping pages one forward & two back
the impossible becomes doable
finally dialing in on some answers
just how far we’ve ventured from home




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
18 Sep 2020
4 Comments

closer to the edge


it’s a dangerous place
a dozen hooded juveniles
snap snap snapping their fingers
on the tip of their toes
dancing choreographically

there’s a jungle within the city
progressing & diverging
adaptations taking place left & right
one band singing a capella
another all electrified

the alleys gather ashes
just as the moon gathers light
midnight winds introducing
unrequited winds
swirling & rising unobserved

hunger awakens the mind
whether at sunrise or high noon
invisible hands motioning
this way to the next show
desiring to audition you




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged ,
17 Sep 2020
3 Comments

with a greater vengeance


larger than life
that’s how it is
either you are [or are not]

lies & innuendo
casually trending
barely above the surface

praying for snow
blanketing the fire
as if it was ever in control

clouds absorbing
any & everything
gossiping & gathering
redefining volatility
with a greater vengeance




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
16 Sep 2020
2 Comments

to the moon & back


I’m lost again but what else is new
having put the fob in my pocket

comfortably buckled inside
I engage the flashing green button

a voice demanding in so many words
where are we going this time




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
15 Sep 2020

grapevine


you never get the whole story
just bits & pieces
sometimes from a single source
some of the sources
you wish you could undo

you shake your head
most of the time
an occasional laugh or chuckle
somehow getting through
an unofficial approval
wooden cane bartered at the market
for three whole bucks

the number of times
you’ve fallen fluctuates
from one source to the next
and the existence
of this so-called stick
is subject to interpretation




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
14 Sep 2020
4 Comments

ghostwriter


I’ve made it halfway through
this book I’m reading
abruptly finding myself stranded
not out on the water
nor in the middle of nowhere
but right here at this very place
I thought belonged to me

this book has become more real
than life itself
my own self becoming displaced
by no fault of my own
no longer capable of keeping myself
from breaking into many pieces
to the point where I’m able
of being in many places at once

this I say
is what death must be like
consumed by an ordinary book
and devouring it with ferocity
ripping through page after page
before abruptly pausing
only to continue by altering all
remaining pages on your own terms




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
13 Sep 2020

for hope is here to stay


sing child sing
rejoice with the rising sun
remove your mask
and smile for all to see

sing child sing
you are meant to learn
with the few & the many
your voice carrying
across virulent waves

sing child sing
let the world know
you are perfectly at ease
flying like the wind

sing child sing
lift up your innocence
open wide your arms
be true to yourself
for hope is here to stay




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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