jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

23 Aug 2023
9 Comments

making love in the afternoon


sirens going off
like background music
fire or police or ambulance
who the hell knows

we’re upstairs making love
in the middle of the afternoon

afterwards she says
maybe somebody was dying
and I say shit baby
everybody is dying

to me it it sounded like
a wounded dragon
crying in agony until finally
fading into nothingness

you’re crazy she says
as the sunshine leaked through
the slatted blinds
it didn’t sound nothing
like that at all





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Aug 2023

beyond the big sky


the mountains look like
giant snails
inching their way
toward the bay

the serpentine river
snakes its way
through them
unceremoniously

high above the big sky
—like open arms—
reveals the magical mysteries
each & every night





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry | Leave a comment
21 Aug 2023
5 Comments

the house we grew up in


do you remember how it used to be
everyone so alive
& their emotions unpredictable
someone swinging from the chandelier
those down below w/their hands
over their heads

where the garden used to grow
is now wild grass & a few weeds
the lady of the house
watering the patch on occasion
looking back & upward
at the second story windows

after all these years nobody knows
how many souls continue
to wreak havoc there
pounding walls & breaking glass
playing monopoly in the kitchen
sneaking out at night





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
20 Aug 2023

like ocean waves


we’ve gotten used to the noise
it’s like anything else
crickets or cluster bombs or cicadas

the conflict was supposed to be
over by now
but as time goes by you come
to realize
war is never over

no matter the place or time
the world will follow you
in all its glory & destruction
implanting you here
uprooting you there
the festivals & the troubles
rolling over themselves
like ocean waves





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , | Leave a comment
19 Aug 2023

window wide open


I’m unable to finish my thoughts
interrupted by the winds
the voices they carry sounding
somewhat familiar
I strain to capture the words
struggle to interpret them
imagining how far they must have traveled
to enter my realm

I come to find they want to know
certain things
answers I do not possess

it is a test I tell myself

the winds die down & the voices fade
darkness settles in
—a coolness arrives

capable of finishing my thoughts again
I write down the words & phrases
handed to me by the winds
spreading them out on the corner table
piecing them back together
my inner voice gaining rhyme & meter
the window always open





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
18 Aug 2023

the large hadron collider


what’s the point of smashing particles in a
machine that goes round & round ad nauseam

I am a greyhound
racing around the track
chasing the rabbit that somehow
runs faster than me
but miraculously I don’t break into
millions of tiny pieces

having given up on the rabbit
I decide to take the form of a roadrunner
running in circles in the desert for no
good reason
my speed increasing with every lap
my body staying perfectly intact

eventually I retire into the night
my body once again changing shape
this time becoming trillions of grains of sand
trapped inside a glass timer
slipping ever so slowly from the top
to the bottom
until at last
I am a mass of nothingness





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

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

a perfect circle


how far back can you remember
chances are if you try
you can go so much further
than ever imagined

imagine if you will
the sounds of the deep deep ocean
surrounding you in serenity
la niña & el niño
alternating in near perfect
harmony

and before that
you sailed past worlds
you can barely remember
slowly coming back into focus
the further you drift away





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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
16 Aug 2023

like a ghost


unplugged & roaming
without a care in the world
the palm of their hands
their very own road map
leading them from point A
to point B

mainly invisible
except by a select few
who somehow identify
w/their predicament
stuck here on this planet
w/o a skeleton key





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
15 Aug 2023

can’t be held responsible


I’m not interested in what
you have to say
I’ve pretty much tuned out
what comes out
of your not so pretty face

I’m not responsible
for the choices you’ve made
how they’ve impacted
a bottom line which used to be
a thing of beauty

you’re at your best
when going it alone
or at least that’s your contention
the rest us left in the dust
totally irresponsible





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
14 Aug 2023

the garden


it should have been different
than the way it transpired
the way the garden progressed
into a disarray of entanglement
above & below ground
the tame intermingling w/the wild
performing some kind of erotic ritual
—onlookers in awe & disbelief
mouths open & eyes fixated
unable to shake off the images
emblazoned into their psyche





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
13 Aug 2023

the insanity of the moment


what’s lost inside these lines
the ones once written
long ago
somehow suddenly
thrust back into the fold

did you not dream them up
in another life
only to make them come alive
time & time again

some images are difficult
to conjure
to bring back to life
to relive so to speak
like the terror
in someone’s eyes
the moment they are captured
through the lens





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
12 Aug 2023

the joker in outer space


refreshing memories
of what’s been told before
this is not just a game
though we are always playing
sometimes serious
sometimes sincere
far in & far out
like some feline cosmonaut

I hear some suggesting
it’s not their first rodeo
but they look nothing like
any cat I’ve ever seen
further surprising me
by being able to speak
confirming my suspicions
about outer space





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
11 Aug 2023
2 Comments

Nikki


the little hustler
running errands for the boss
testy like a rat

demon in disguise
changing appearance at will
little angel boy

his face is ageless
now you see him now you don’t
cool breath fills the air





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
10 Aug 2023

papier-mâché


an empty carton of milk
former half gallon of chocolate

she refills it with her own
measured concoction
the smell of powdered chalk
filling her nostrils

she doesn’t read the newspaper
instead shreds it into thin long slats
taking on the shape of a burial mound
piled high on the makeshift table

days goes by before having at it again
tearing into the carton to get to the solid block

from there carving & sanding
meticulously ensues
mimicking the miniature clay prototype
at rest on a shelf
in the corner of her eye





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
09 Aug 2023
5 Comments

what do you do with your love


how long have you suffered
how long have you lived the dream
the two going hand in hand
how can they ever be separated

you walk a mile in your own shoes
you walk a mile in someone else’s
distinguishing between the two
an impossible proposition

when the heart becomes swollen
when the heart becomes weak
what do you do with your love
before it all goes away





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
08 Aug 2023
3 Comments

rounding home


this is the summer
the one that never ends
where boys & girls play ball
well into the night

this is the summer
the one made of dreams
where time becomes obsolete
the skies ever bright

this is the summer
the one for all the ages
little legs effortlessly in motion
circling the bases





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

Posted in Baseball, Poetry and tagged , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →