jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

02 Feb 2014
6 Comments

I walk alone


moderation is but a stranger
he thought
sitting on a park bench
and feeding the pigeons
bread of life meant to last
the entire winter

somewhere down the road
everything became all or none
as those earthly habits
siphoned off the fuel
that once powered his
beautiful thoughts

the very idea of divorcing
such influential forces
from his daily rituals
sent his mind tumbling
deeper into the fray

knowing there could never be
one final straw
he walked along the river alone
his destructive tendencies
seemingly out of sight





february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,
01 Feb 2014
2 Comments

slow motion


an inside energy aspires foreign
motivation
to locate new places for
cool isolation
working on remedies
to century-old habits

inside this allusion the mind’s
eye flits
like a butterfly
along winding stone steps
digressing into a deepening
pool of true change

even while away the doubts remain
false distractions replace
memories of sure
familiar space

progression continues on time
unchanged
the path homing around
new worlds
unfolding alien landscapes
and welcomed perils

incomplete thoughts bring
incomplete conclusions
halting
progressive forward movements
in favor of slow motion replays



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, 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 , , ,
28 Jan 2014

homecoming


unlocked
she turned the handle and
let herself in
supplanting footsteps
left ages ago
when she could barely breathe

standing tall in the landing
she listened for her
heartbeat barely audible
down the hallway
eyes looking waywardly
as shoulders effortlessly
let go the knapsack

unashamed
she stepped forward
and further into the past
kicking every single ghost
trying to settle back in



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
26 Jan 2014
4 Comments

blessed are the lucky ones


when someone says they make
their own luck
I can only imagine how blatantly
foolish they must be
believing having control
of their own destiny
is actually possible by someone
other than the gods

for free spirits such as these
I hope they never
ever know
it’s just a matter of time
before they come to realize
luck has nothing to do
with their lot in life
nor their untimely demise




january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
25 Jan 2014
2 Comments

waiting to be retold

Dedicated to Melvin Lloyd Rinehart
August 9, 1953 – January 15, 2014

the stories have grown silent
tucked away in the corners
of a wild imagination
neither asleep nor awake
but simply resting on a shelf
up above outstretched arms

they will never be forgotten
and they will always be true
their beauty down-to-earth
but now ethereal
lying in a perpetual state of
anticipatory retelling




january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
22 Jan 2014
8 Comments

earthbound and elemental


she keeps old zippo
and stick matches
stashed inside denim pockets
just in case something
ever needs starting

innocent dragons
breathe in knowledge
exhaling old world ideas
to winded children
dying for fresh air

oceans rock and roil
worshipped by clouds
parading as aliens
showering the coast
inexorably

deep within the soil
life awakens
stirred by foot driven shovels
uncovering rock
never before seen



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
20 Jan 2014

the playing field


there is no stopping and staring
into darkness
there is just doing
or there is nothing else to do

(I used to raise my voice to be heard
because I was sure nobody would listen

who really does that anymore)

there is no reason for such foolishness
it only reminds me of punishments
handed out unjustly

(eventually getting kicked across the floor
becomes nothing but a diminishing recurrence)

though the sun and moon may shine
brightest at its apex
their lowest moments inspire me most
when the world is neither
alive nor awake
and the playing field is perfectly level



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
19 Jan 2014
10 Comments

olfactory arousal


strips of bacon appeared
in my high-definition dream
alongside ripened tomatoes
farm fresh eggs
and quarter pound cheeseburgers

I could hear them pop and sizzle
in their own searing grease
could smell the sweetness
originating from the kitchen
and infiltrating the entire house

pretending I’m fully awake
I tuck a linen napkin
up under my chin
march down the staircase
wielding flatware and a hefty appetite



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
16 Jan 2014
12 Comments

restoration project


they fell from the sky
these transparent wings of mine
tattered and torn
and superfluously useful

night and day I stitched away
new leather onto old
rubbing and shining and redefining
a finer shade of gold

I hung them all alone inside
an unlit closet
wherein they stretched and glowed
and quietly repaired
imperfections I could not mend



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
14 Jan 2014
8 Comments

untitled 2007


how do i decide
what to believe is real?
should i follow my thoughts
or just live out my dreams?
there once was a time
i worried about my heart
but as the years pass on
i know it’s my soul
i most trust.



september two thousand seven
audio january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
13 Jan 2014
7 Comments

the treaty of good riddance


let go of the anger
leave it at the doorstep
ring the bell and run away

there is no room for it
anywhere or anymore

all it does is drag you down
leaving you
and everyone around you
exhausted

let go of the anger
and reach out to someone
in need
someone you’d never thought
would need help
or someone on the other side

let go of the anger
and instead practice humility
and patience
and gratitude
start proving to yourself
you can live without it
and be someone better
than you were the day before

think of the restraints anger
puts on your life
how it prolongs your depression
and reinforces your addictions
preventing you from ever truly
enjoying the benefits of positivity
hospitality and endless creativity

think about it
think about how losing your anger
would be the best thing the world
would ever know

food will taste better
the air will smell sweeter
and those streaks of light
racing through the sky
will be nothing but beautifully peaceful





january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , , , ,
12 Jan 2014

seeing things


I crossed the bridge on the coldest
day of the year just as the noon
whistle blew

on the frozen river below
hundreds of geese huddled together
on the sunlit ice

once inside the downtown deli
I warmed to a cup of soup
and toasted sandwich

driving back across the bridge
the geese had vanished
into the bitter winter air



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
11 Jan 2014
6 Comments

on getting to first base


she caught me smiling
and pretended she really
never glanced my way

in a bout of bravery I decided
to get up from the patio table
and walked over to hers
and asked her softly
why she had looked my way

oh you reminded me of someone
she began
someone I once met in cincinnati

have you ever been to cincinnati
she asked me
batting her eyes and using her slender
index finger to flick off the long ash
from her virginia slim

no I said
I never have but I once promised myself
I’d like to become a speck in a sea of red
at the stadium there on the ohio river
and catch a foul ball with my bare hands

that sounds like fun she said
why don’t you sit down and share with me
more of your baseball fantasies





january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
07 Jan 2014
6 Comments

breathing lessons


lying flat on the floor
first I bend my mind
then my body

from there I wonder
where my soul takes me next

temperatures rise
then fall to record lows

the crow flies due north
searching for something new

moving pictures
stored on the ground
and in the cloud
suddenly freeze

lying flat on my back
I close my eyes and
pretend I’m breathing
for the very first time



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
05 Jan 2014
12 Comments

the blue in her eyes


the little girl sat on a park bench on
a late sunday morning in her
white freshly pressed dress
and white lacy gloves
holding a petite black purse
and wearing black catlike glasses

a slight breeze
brushed back her wavy blond hair

a young man kneeled before her
pointing a camera her way
snapping photograph
after photograph
telling her to look this way and that
using words like angel
and baby
and darling
as if she was a magazine model

now smile he told her
but she would not smile

please smile darling
show me your lovely smile

but she refused to smile
without offering an explanation
clenching the clasp of her petite black purse

becoming frustrated the young man
stood tall and begged her to tell him
why she would not smile

moments of silence ensued
except for the wind traveling between them
brushing forward her hair
and shrouding the blue in her eyes



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →