jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

30 Dec 2023

martian hangover


we were supposed to have landed
in the utopian basin
instead found ourselves in hellas planitia

yeah it was a bit warmer there
but the space bar was out of this world
that is until they closed it down for good

we were told about a mass migration
heading north to arabia terra
just outside the cassini crater

of course the winds were headed
in the wrong direction
which is exactly why we remained
in what would become a hellhole
for nearly a fortnight





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
29 Dec 2023

in need of repair


I am not me today
once checking out of rehab
I walk down the sidewalk
a man without a horse

the city’s no place for me
it’s high time I check into the future
where ocean waves
always change but never cease

off in the distance
there is a white horse pacing
up & down the shoreline
protecting the damaged dinghy
[that will one day become ours]
the very one that brought her there





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Dec 2023
2 Comments

not going back home anytime soon


when I finished the book
I took it with me to the library
—they said they didn’t have this one
and I said now you do

the pigeons on the front steps
don’t know how to read
but if they did they’d quickly find out
it’s best to hang with the ducks

just a few city blocks away
I made my way to the lake
(which is really just a big shallow pond
w/geese & ducks & an occasional pelican)
a new book under my wing
something about angels
looking homeward

sitting down on a bench
I kept the book shut
watched the walkers & joggers
& cyclists going by
wings tucked under their shoulders
not a single pigeon in sight





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
27 Dec 2023

recording the unknown


how am I to decide
which is the right way
the fork in the road is deceiving
there may be another route
underground
or aboveground

someone stole the signage
that pointed in so many different directions
—some say it may have been
banksy himself

they used to keep the extension
ladder
hanging in the garage
but now it leans against the back of the house

the kids in the neighborhood
fooled into thinking
there must be something worthwhile to photograph
through that second story window





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
26 Dec 2023

summer of eighty-three


he had to go back home
back to chicago

I think he was taking the bus
maybe he hitchhiked
or maybe he had a ride

his name was Mike
he was one of the good guys
some things you just don’t forget

we lived in a hell hole
along with six or eight other guys
who did nothing but trash the place

on the morning of your departure
you passed on some tools to me
most still with me to this day





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
25 Dec 2023

the monster in the bottle


I’m at a loss for a message
in a plastic coke bottle
afloat in the sea
cast w/no regard to whatever
bird or fish or mammal or
marine invertebrate
may happen to come eye to eye
w/the great artificial monster





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Birds, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
24 Dec 2023
2 Comments

on christmas eve


there’s no cause for celebration
when the old man dies

it was his turn the young woman
tries to explain to her child

it’s a surprise there is any celebration
this year let alone any year

outside there is strange activity
as if the infantry
is parachuting over rooftops
flashlights in tow

down below in musty cellars
ordinary citizens
are locking & loading
praying the outside forces
have come in peace





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,
23 Dec 2023
1 Comment

the accident


the cat is creeping in the house
though I’ve no idea where he is

I’ve sequestered myself
in a room w/three glass walls
fully draped in snow-white blinds
—the fourth wall painted charcoal
the only door a two-way mirror

fog has somehow entered this place
seeping in through cracks & crevices
concealing the cat suspected
of sauntering by

I turn on the ceiling fans remotely
the fog quickly & soundlessly dissipating
the cat’s distressing meowing
a reminder of the ambulance’s siren
still ringing in my ear





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Dec 2023

do it yourself


at walmart the jump rope
sells for sixteen bucks

on youtube
you’ll find various ways
to make your own

just to be clear
the ones in the video will cost
just as much
as the one from walmart

but in the final analysis
yours will be worth
much much more





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
21 Dec 2023
2 Comments

unforgiven for now


there are those unafraid to die
conditioned to care less
about their own body
than other worldly matters
—such as rescuing the distressed
from imminent death
or dying for the sins of others

nothing is really forgotten here
but rather passes on
from various transgressions to the next
eerily similar to ground wars
lasting thousands of years





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,
20 Dec 2023
6 Comments

misunderstood


I remember as a child
probably four-years old
walking about the property
making up song lyrics ad lib
singing them out loud as the
words popped into my head

from what I remember
they were ballads
words of sorrow & grief
verses hard for me to fathom
following a melody I must
have picked up from a prior life

I imagine the neighbors
who happened to walk by
must have found me strange
—and though I had known
they were there all along
I pretended like I didn’t





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
19 Dec 2023

creature of the night


what’s become of the deep dark state
that once help my grasp

a sort of given of a blacking out
for predictable periods of nightly reverie

once upon a time the creature of the night
dwelled in my dreams

today it’s a physical reality
scratching at the window like the wind

or like a raven tight walking the sill
indecisive in its next move

I am between subconsciousness & light
unafraid but frozen

I blink my eyes in a sort of morse code

the bird is unable to interpret
pacing back & forth

its eyes locked onto mine
as the latter flicker until the light of day

only then off it flies until the next affair





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
18 Dec 2023

a cryptic celebration


on winter break
abominable snowmen
(dressed as warlocks)
come down from the mountains
and participate
in the annual festivities

at this time of year
they’re feared not by the locals
especially the children
who marvel at their wizardry
—one by one pleading
to be next





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
17 Dec 2023

nightshift


listless like a lemon tree
on a cool winter day
a little lonesome dove
sings her sad sad song

behind darkish clouds
a blue sky is hiding
the lonesome dove
wishes to change her tune

evening segues into night
now the moon is hiding
the little lonesome dove
longs to be a snowy owl





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
16 Dec 2023

collection


this little glass mason jar
begins with nothing

a small seashell
and a little smooth stone

rubbing between thumb
and forefinger
make a wish
anything is possible

the sun rises the moon sets
it’s another day
in what used to be paradise

forget-me-nots
bloom every other year
dark-eyed juncos
returning every late november

in the little glass mason jar
a feather & a tell
discovered halfway up the hill

deeper inside
in the center of the earth
a new journey begins





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
15 Dec 2023
6 Comments

nonstop deliveries


news arrives via various devices
streaming by way of satellite & wire & clouds
explosions of information
bombarding the masses
like bombs of war
by 10:00 am enough is enough
and one by one the various devices
are powered down
or rebooted
the silence of the day deafening
like disturbing echos
reverberating throughout mind & body





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →