jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

03 Mar 2024

patriots flying through space


it’s unrealistic to think
I could be flying through space
between today & my death
yet the calls keeping coming in
fundraisers & recruiters
wanting a piece of me
like I’m a tiny part of a complex picture
dreamers connecting dots
from my body to the moon’s south pole
—eventually onto mars

I’ve since blocked such callers
stopped answering
unrecognized numbers
believing there’s nothing unadmirable
about dying right here on earth





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
02 Mar 2024

Thank God It’s Friday


It seems anymore
the days are ruled by extremes
like horses bolting through
closed barn doors
finding themselves stampeding
the wrong way

Meanwhile back at the Hamburg Inn
a displaced marionette
does the dishes in the back
not benefiting much from $12 pub burgers
dreaming of gigging again
in open air arenas

Along the river
youngsters fish for money with their feet
while old-timers grow out their hair
& practice walking on water
striving to achieve ‘mystic’ status

Down at city hall
hundreds assemble peacefully
singing protest songs
& gathering stones just in case
passersby invariably crossing the street
their eyes looking the other way





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
01 Mar 2024

into the void


as if fighting mother nature
isn’t bad enough
we take it upon ourselves
to displace peoples
we barely know
by means of destruction

 *

many months after my birth
the moon often
visited my dreams
suggesting
my true father
may well be the god of war

 *

the recipe for peace
and restoration
is written on the leaves
of the eucalyptus
and the black locust
only the blind can read

 *

as a child I practiced
with bow & arrow
the former becoming
an extension
of my expanding psyche

 *

it’s a universal truth
the masses
do not stand a chance
against the select
yet another reason
to escape into the void





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
29 Feb 2024

deprogrammed


as time passes the loss remains
though shapes & sounds continue to change

what you hear from the webspinners
is exactly what you get
not fact or fiction or partial truths
but rather an amalgamation of sorts

like a kid in a bowling alley
you really don’t know what goes on
behind the scenes
and when you start asking around
nobody else seems to know either

they say the only evidence the police found
was a skeleton key
& a letter from a former lover
saying she was happy life was boring again
now that the conspiracy has passed





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Feb 2024

I shot the Messiah


I shot the Messiah
or someone who looked like him
right there in broad daylight
outside the bath
where there were many witnesses

Word quickly spread
that I shot the Messiah
right there in broad daylight
so many of the witnesses in shock & awe
pointing their fingers at me

When I dropped the revolver
it landed in such a way
the chamber opened & bullets escaped
the witnesses mesmerized & questioning
why I shot the Messiah

The whole scene was surreal
like in a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western
the Messiah shot but not dead
the witnesses adamantly begging him
to save himself





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

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
27 Feb 2024

living on the edge


In a sense we are all doomed,
even if we stay away from black holes.
~ Stephen Hawking

the purple mime
practices his craft in the city center
a square space of grass
& concrete & active imaginations

there he scales the tallest tree
having transformed himself
into a spiderman
finding himself higher than the
tallest nearby building
the spectators looking upward
hands over mouths

using not a single word
somehow he explains
how he’s reached the event horizon
& that possibly
quite possibly
not even escape velocity
could save him now





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
26 Feb 2024
2 Comments

living vicariously


I’ve come to learn
my existence is a universe
passing thru time and space
at speeds comprehensible

the mother tells me
not to wipe my sweaty & dirty face
with the belly of my shirt

the father contradicts her

they won’t stay long
but rather settle into a world that’s closer
to the black hole
not far from my beating heart

I’ve come to learn
my eyes are pristine seas
untouched by man
my hands
miracle workers in the arts & sciences
my mind like a satellite link
to adjoining cosmoses

living vicariously is not an option
not when the security
of the universe
is at stake





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
25 Feb 2024

dead bug


pretend you’re a may beetle
or a june bug
and somehow
you’ve found your wing casings
upside down on the floor
suddenly becoming immobile

now with your legs
in a tabletop position
stretch one out & down & back
repeating & alternating right & left
both arms reaching toward the ceiling
later allowing them to do
what they will
as if you are dying a slow death





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
24 Feb 2024

living past the winter


we haven’t a clue who’s in charge
for all we know it could be
the drug cartels

it’s a miracle more aren’t dead
considering the ongoing conflicts
keep going on

news on the weekend is scarce
given all the sporting events
& other entertainment

there seems to be plenty of canceling
going on these days
whether they’re vacations abroad

or entire swaths of territory
victors undoubtedly taking the spoils
just like in the good old days





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 Feb 2024

magic number


it doesn’t matter what I think
it’s all about the rooster

I’ve always thought ten or twelve girls
is a few too many for one
or maybe even two

but then again it matters not
what I think

some say it has to do
with what you’re trying to accomplish

whether or not
you prefer eggs
or chicks
or cock fights

of course having many roosters
works when it works
of course that is until it doesn’t





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
22 Feb 2024

how things will have changed


the way we see things now
is but a distant memory

the rivers
the lands
and the seas

[as you know
not all things appear
as they seem]

think of the dream
the one dream
unchanged over a lifetime
the rivers
and the lands
and the seas
exactly
where they’ve always been

by the time you awaken
all of it has been put back into place
and you imagine starting over
is a distinct possibility





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
21 Feb 2024
2 Comments

a virtual family meeting


going off the grid
appears to be
the easiest way to escape
all the violence & insanities
surrounding us
—and even then
even then there’s no guarantee
we’d still be alive
in this war-infested world
yet another year





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , ,
20 Feb 2024

Surrender


The skies were blue
meaning the school children
were outside again
observing
& learning

Used to be it was like an accident
when the sky was blue
some calling it
an (once-upon-a-time) omen
a second coming of sorts

After so many years
the skies were blue again
perhaps an anomaly
inherited from antiquity
redefining what it means to surrender
this day & age





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

Posted in History, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
19 Feb 2024
2 Comments

at daybreak


they were frantically gathering sticks
kindling to save the fire
having burned throughout the night
and the watcher
the guardian of the flame
had fallen asleep
only to be awakened by a fallen angel
seeking redemption
commanding the watcher to sound the alarm
and thus all of the children
sprang to their feet
running into the forest to face
the shadows of the past
inevitably saving the village
from any threats within





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,
18 Feb 2024

no fame to bear


I’ve been busy
practicing my breathing
and counting to ten
starting over when
lost in thought
or making it to the end

I’m fine with dying
in obscurity
my drive for change
often buffeted by the wind
that uncontrollable force
[nine times out of ten]
making you pause
and contemplate
the world around you

the breathing & counting
will not broker peace
though it may take you
into new perspectives
such as how the mind
may not necessarily
be reliant upon the body





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
17 Feb 2024

on leaving the door unlocked


she took up half the couch
small glass dish atop her lap
shelling pistachios efficiently
directing each discovery
into her mouth

it was around midnight
the three of us seemingly
invading our own townhouse
having spent hours
painting the town pretty

our sudden entry didn’t seem
to interrupt her rhythm
calmly letting us know
she believes we live
three doors down





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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