On Normandy Beach
Even on vacation the bombing
does not cease
heard thousands of miles away
from the glorious oceanfront
morning noon & night
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca
poetry by j matthew waters
along the railroad tracks
i.
what shall we talk about
of course nothing is an option
but there must be something
you’d wish to discuss
an object & a subject perhaps
such as a damsel in distress
ii.
there’s the recent death of Albert
but that’s a private matter
and sweet Josephine is out the question
for she is alive & quite well
endlessing walking the shoreline
throwing sticks & picking up stones
iii.
if it’s a fantasy that suits you
please return from the one since birth
twisting & turning your own fate
into a tragic or comedic poem
here I am beginning to recall
where you left off the last time
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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we shall never have to die again
there we go
playing with fire again
believing that finding our way
is by way of light
every night we die a slow death
only to be reborn
morning after morning
neither learning by past mistakes
nor desirous of trying something new
instead we go back to the fire
believing we can conquer it
believing if only we can make it last
throughout the night
we shall never have to die again
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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check out my melody
I’ve been waiting for a song
to come my way
one everyone sings along with
offering rhyming references
like kryptonite or doctor killjoy
offering messages I’d like
to understand but cannot
allowing the mind
to escape the body
if only for a few melodic minutes
or an entire lifetime
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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for the people
it’s no real surprise I heard him say
and it got me to thinking
whatever could possibly be
firearms made by 3D printers
ones with real-world capabilities
created by ordinary men in their lairs
focused on nothing but themselves
they make ammunition too
and anything you can possibly want
made in america & for america
always for sale at a steep steep discount
taxed by a government allegedly
of the people & by the people
haphazardly for the people
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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After the implosion
Don’t build a wall around your own suffering,
it may devour you from the inside.
— Frida Kahlo
I left the spade in the garden
jammed into the earth five days ago
It may be buried by now
for all I know
or it may have become uprooted
and sailed away with the wind
I don’t live in Kansas anymore
in fact I’m not quite sure where I am
some days it feels like somewhere
in the middle of Peloponnese
others in the heart of Sanremo
I’m finding getting to know
my new surroundings
to be a bit of a challenge
but I’ve committed myself
to make it work in the long run
having collapsed
all the walls around me
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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pardon me for my intermittent absences
excuse me but something
has taken over my life
call it a shadow I’ve never known
call it anything that you will
just understand what you see
can’t possibly be me
dreams are everything now
a new reality filled with pathways
carved through the pines
filtered light from the heavens
spotlighting all the souls
we’ve come to know
it’s as if I’m going in & out
of consciousness
smiling on the hour every hour
throwing boomerangs beyond
the tallest of trees
always zeroing in on my flesh
each & every time
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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sort of like vegas
they tried telling me
nobody knows what happens
after the lights go out
making me chuckle
beneath my breath
knowing full well the lights
(as long as they’re not man-made)
can’t possibly ever extinguish
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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putting down a few with the dead
there is nothing riding on this game
but I’m watching it anyway
on a hot summer’s day along with
bukowski & harry caray
and some woman
I don’t recognize
of course harry had already
seen this game
by virtue of special permission
while hank consumed two beers
for every one of ours
repeatedly asking the woman
for her name
after a while she became
irritated that he couldn’t remember
and so the pretty dead lady
walked out of our lives
just like that
no questions asked
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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no thanks to the nazarene
nobody told me what was going on
but I was playing along
sitting in the rear
visualizing all the stations
right there on the wall
the last time I’d been here
I got sick for a month
experimented with oranges
and tangerines
cucumbers & strawberries
anything that could possibly
alter my state of mind
chocolate ice cream
baileys & irish whiskey
usually provided the greatest relief
this time I’m not going in
just zeroing in on those coming out
acting as if they’ve been
saved again
for the umpteenth time
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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houseflies stuck in peanut butter
they were very young
but you wouldn’t have
noticed by their egos
an indirect result of half-engaged
parents & multiple
multi-media campaigns
they sat around the jumbo
jar of peanut butter
positioned squarely
in the center of the kitchen table
the geometry of which
allowed for six comfy chairs
on plastic casters
the oldest would lean back
and pontificate about
the ills of the neighborhood
and the majority would concur
agreeing something must be done
militarily if necessary
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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the rise of the wildflowers
what else is there to do than question
the degree of violence in society today
maybe we shouldn’t flatter ourselves
until we actually let loose the nukes
talk about depopulating the world
an ambitious goal somehow achieved
much sooner than previously imagined
at a cost much lower due to stagflation
and as economists rethink their stances
victorious warlords take on more land
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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I’m on vacation
I’ve got this idea in my head
I’m on vacation
that it’s become my occupation
debunking conspiracy theories
like the reversal of poles
or the inevitable grand gesture
from snake island
I often find myself
fishing for my mother
in deep cold trout pools
the depths of which producing
the darkest of blues
I’ve come to terms
with my misfortunes
and dash away to old cities
as if I’m a bored to death
like Louis or Lestat
The best part is I can
jump anytime I like
from princess cruise ships
putting myself in a position
to press rewind
for hundreds of years
or fast forward beyond
my imaginary tears
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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artificial island
it is clear to me
the answers are embroiled
between the moon & ocean
impossible waves bearing witness
to what we believe to be true
how many notes
will you stuff inside bottles
castaways with nothing to lose
messages reworked as questions
a collection of uncontrolled vessels
of various size & composition
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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[in these united states]
I don’t feel it today
far from patriotic as I’ve
ever been
driven away by an extremism
I’d no idea existed
in such deep-rootedness
[but of course in retrospect
how could I have not known]
democratic seems to be
more & more like a word anymore
one I came across
when I was naive
& eager to learn
one that I took for granted
like freedom & liberty
whatever the hell those two mean
the killings & the kidnappings
drug dealings & human trafficking
they don’t take a day off
not on sundays when so many
enjoy the democratic sun or rain
and especially not on the
fourth of july
in these united states
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
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alien hideaway
you should be able to see me
clearly now
since becoming an alien in waiting
the tricks I’ve learned
in such a short period of time(lessness)
now preying upon your mind
as you attempt to decide
if you’re going insane
or becoming
someone exactly like me
living further from the truth
than ever before
reworking my appearance
using proverbial smoke & mirrors
and casting rolling stones
into bluesy waters
where I believe
you must be prospering again
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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