jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

10 May 2024

An unintelligent device


I was thinking about the clock
how he said it was made in Korea
that he couldn’t read
the instructions that came with it

Over time he learned
how to make it work properly

It was a handsome clock
featuring day & time
sunrise & sunset
but what stood out to me
was how he said it wasn’t smart

One day it lay on the couch
in the living room
lifeless & undisturbed
somewhat like a stillborn baby

I remember him distinctly shouting
‘don’t touch it’

It’s just resting he went on to say
I couldn’t muster the strength
to place it back on the wall

And so in the morning
we got it back on the wall
back hanging on the set screw
day & time
sunrise & sunset
back to where it should be


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
09 May 2024
2 Comments

gradual pull


we live in a vacuum
the suction excruciatingly slow
you don’t ever notice
at least not when you’re alive
and in good health

it’s like a reverse form of gravity
picking away at the skin
eventually bone
it’s how a stone’s face
reinvents itself time & again

what’s lost is unlikely lost
simply misplaced
like a memory or birthday wish
tugging on your hemline
temporarily elusive


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
08 May 2024
3 Comments

a clandestine operation


they say the numbers look good
so off they go

shipped in the middle of the night

when the old numbers go out
new ones come in
and with a little tweaking
or some massaging
or altogether reworked
they too will look good
and off they go

shipped in the middle of the night

sometimes the numbers don’t work out
the way they should
and the outcome manifests itself
into minor or major accidents
an occasional total death & destruction

and when the latter is the case
the number crunchers will be handcuffed
and taken away
each one replaced by something shiny & new


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
07 May 2024
4 Comments

test of time


where do we go
once time stands still
like a flamingo preening
in shallow water
lost in endless thought

behold the eternal flame
trapped inside a frozen cave
indistinguishable from time
secluded like a dream

if only you could find
the formulaic language
of putting time in a nutshell
buried in the spring
by the keeper of the stars


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
06 May 2024
2 Comments

nothing much


she asked what I had
done all day
this after doing god knows what
from nine to five

for a second I thought it was
a trick question
but I quickly regrouped
and said I’d spent most of the day
watching the war in real time

in my mind
the better question might be
what’s that sweet smell
you got going on in the kitchen


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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , ,
05 May 2024
1 Comment

this is not a drill


an early evening
aircraft flying overhead
one after the other
—even the cat taking notice
letting out
a long sigh of relief
safe behind the sectional


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

Posted in Animals, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
04 May 2024

Aftermath


Heaven is comfort, but it’s still not living.
― Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones

I was working on a lullaby
right around midnight
searching for words that rhyme with
worms & undercover

They say the funnel cloud
sounds like a fast approaching locomotive
but it’s nothing more than a mere dream
when a child is fast asleep

If you ever tore anything to pieces
with your own bare hands
you might have an appreciation for
the reality of true brute force


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

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
03 May 2024

lesson four-twenty


a philosopher friend
once told me
try to look at this way
when the dream becomes reality
death is no longer an option

he was pretty stoned
at the time
so i didn’t want to ruin his buzz
yet the more I thought about it
the less I was concerned
about dying


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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
02 May 2024
4 Comments

Private eyes


I cut back the rose bushes
branches & stems & canes
right down to the green

It is early April & cold
a slight wind bemoaning change
—& just like in a recurring dream
a set of eyes (or maybe two)
watching
my every move

I should be wearing gloves
but I never do
my hands with an occasional puncture
blood beading & oozing here & there—
their eyes focused on the color scarlet
I imagine they are imagining
what it would taste like
to lick my wounds

I try to guess what animal
the eyes belong to
but they are shadowless
& possess no language

how I know they are there
remains a mystery to me
but a movement of light in my peripheral
has me looking inward


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

Posted in Animals, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
01 May 2024
2 Comments

nothing to worry about


where do you suppose they go
all the good ones
is there a special place in time
nobody’s told us about

see here
I didn’t mean nothing by it
the candle went out
all on its own
and when I tried to bring it back to life
with a wink & a snap
well that was it
nothing doing

we talked for hours about it in the dark

every night the lights go out
and every morning
you wake up a new woman
somehow slightly different
like a daffodil
looking brighter
unconcerned about the law
of diminishing returns
as if there’s nothing to worry about


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
30 Apr 2024
2 Comments

Seeing Red


The capital city is sinking
but there’s no place left to run

The entire world is on lockdown
though tickets to Mars
are selling for a dime a dozen

If digressing to an archipelago
is on your mind
I may have to ask you
exactly in which dimension


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

Posted in In the City, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
29 Apr 2024

rogue planet


do you see it there
a foreigner in the night sky
a light never before seen
solid & unblinking
perhaps a child of mars or venus
or a runaway satellite
hungry for attention
& inching closer
with each lunar cycle
until one night suddenly
completely out of the picture


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

Posted in Aliens, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Apr 2024

wanted (dead or) alive


the neighbor put up a few signs
saying his boa constrictor
busted out of jail again

the sheriff deputized all the children
in a six block radius
saying do what it takes
to bring in the bastard
dead or alive

meanwhile
the neighbor was last spotted
in a fake mustache & beard
purchasing little white mice
at a nearby petco

these kinds of poems
never end well
& this one
doesn’t stand a chance in hell


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

Posted in Animals, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
27 Apr 2024

loving thy enemy


I wasn’t trained to shake it off
which may be why
my skin is inked in sin

Seeing people smile after
fucking up
what is that all about—
the devil or someone
just shaking it off
or perhaps something I can’t
wrap my head around

I keep looking
for enemies
but all I find are people
who look like me
especially the women
some of whom seemingly asking
haven’t we met before


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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
26 Apr 2024

space wars one oh one


strikes stem from the skies
originating between
the clouds & the stars
randomized citizenry
jolted back to life
in the dead of the night

what used to be
infrequent close encounters
has become hell on earth
as if an alien race
nobody can see
plays god from the ether


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

Posted in Aliens, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
25 Apr 2024

dreaming of double jeopardy


so I agreed to met with this person
who said they had no agenda
—up to twenty inquiries allowed
but I had another thing in mind
(having awakened in a bed
that was not my own)
such as presenting each question
in the form of a wrong answer


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

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

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