where ducks once floated
now feed on algae-like grass
echoes in the valley
bounce off the bluffs & dissipate
into a stream
that once
was a river
raptors surveil from up high
zeroing in on the lowest denominator
—their symphonic wings
ushering in
the distant lightning
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
nobody is safe yet miraculously
so many live in a constant
state of peace
whether or not the same stands true
interiorly speaking
is another matter altogether
what a world they must live in
insulated from the physically reality
of inner city warfare
the moving pictures
of airstrikes & drone attacks
can’t do justice
especially where justice
cannot be served
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you can see now
now that the veil has been lifted
and the clouds have cleared
trillions of stars in the night sky
coming into view
for the very first time
it’s then you tell yourself
how they’ve been there all along
yourself previously
buried deep underground
like a dormant seed
waiting to be awakened
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they say there is safety in numbers
an old adage likely apocryphal
this day & age
wherever people gather
there exists this potential
for mass devastation
whether by nature herself
or the acting out of malcontents
I suppose from the dawn of time
humans have been unable
to control themselves
whether it be the insatiable desire
to reach for the stars
or thirsting to destroy
that which we fail to comprehend
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there are these words
scrambled atop this tall table
one with two high chairs
it sits in the corner of the room
the cherry wood
dark & shadowy
people who live there
people who visit
pass by on a regular basis
but they do not notice the words
one night one of them is speaking
philosophically
—the four others sit on the floor
listening & mostly nodding
he or she goes on to say it’s difficult
to explain what we’re trying to say
that it’s hard to put into words
the very words scrambled
across the tall tabletop
—like a puzzle dying to be put together
and they sit on the floor
& they ponder
the floor too
made of cherry wood
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
chillin’ w/some stones
& irish whiskey
I keep time w/o a watch
pretending the world
exists differently
than it did yesterday
I lost all of my money
to the bear market
& somewhere along the way
my anger went w/it
replaced by a sort of
melancholy
that I can’t quite seem
to put my finger on
the future is currently
out of the question
optioned for a song & a dance
[& a player to be named later]
while the past remains
idling in the background
waiting to be recalled
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
dying naturally or by suicide
two birds squabble in the bush
their eyes like emeralds
—the first light
exposing them
for what they will later be
continuation is my punishment
a deal made behind my back
before the birds
were ever born
—before becoming fully aware
death is never permanent
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
lost to the ages
I wrote snippets of thoughts
onto scraps
of colored paper
stuffed them into my front pockets
—and left the city
for the country
there I bowed to the sungod
unstuffing my thoughts
from my front pockets
—like butterflies they flew
away from my hands
into an endless blue sky
—up up & away they went
and suddenly
I felt a piece of me
go with them
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
theories & conspiracies abound
though nothing concrete
seems to evolve into truthfulness
the flavor of the day
unpalatable
to the ubiquitous bourgeois
some say it’s a good idea
to fend for themselves
instead of investing confidence
into any promises made
by politicians & corporations
who likely have only
their best interests in mind
in the meantime inequalities
expand exponentially
like equations found
inside many a math book
inside galaxies near & far
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you can find them just about anywhere
on the kitchen counter
inside the cabin of the car
atop the bedroom dresser
coffee table & end tables
and especially in the ‘reminders’ app
it didn’t use to be this way
back when I was as sharp as a tack
but time has a way of chipping away
at the sharpness of wit
the precision of a timepiece
the idleness of a combustion engine
it could be just about anything
items at the grocery store or drug store
or the hardware store
rebooting the modem every sunday
visiting dear old mom at assisted living
or working on my own obituary
october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it was a friday night
and there was dancing in the streets
four whole city blocks
cordoned off by the police
a live band playing on each one
half the city joining hands
and dancing the night away
showing the world
just how easy it really is
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I want to do something more
but can’t quite put my finger
on it
the lost key
buried in the ground
found by a stroke of luck
the one opening a door that
suddenly appears in the garden
it welcomes a long lost world
expanding like a newborn galaxy
it’s impossible not to cross
the threshold
impossible not to leave
that which had become
comfortably numb
a sort of dalliance if you will
involving the former self
and the endless stars
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
little yellow submarine
somewhere in the south pacific
well armed with nukes
& waiting to be called [when the
time is right]
when the next armed conflict
accidentally starts
on purpose
likely by a lone lunatic
w/a tricky trigger finger
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
blame it on faulty wiring
the red one in the black socket
& vice versa
the white wire left ungrounded
all causing a slow smoldering of sorts
like a hot cigarette ash
accidentally dropped inside a couch
gradually deteriorating the inner workings
eventually causing me to be completely
out of my mind
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I saw her outside
my office window on a
warm september afternoon
dressed in short jean shorts
& a blue tank top
pacing back & forth on the sidewalk
smartphone covering her right ear
her left hand holding
a retractable leash
the end of which secured
a relatively small black pussycat
attempting to go against
the grain
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I sat in the quietness
of the evening
believing my visions of
september daffodils
& october madness
had merit
I told myself
time itself will tell the story
the natural light
in my peripheral
fading minute
by precious minute
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 