jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

30 May 2022

otherwise you’d still be alive today


I thought I had something
but when I looked back
nothing was there

how do you keep yourself
together
when we all know
what happens in the end

the story can be anything
you want it to be
as long as you’re open
to interpretation

building confidence
is the hardest part
it takes time & patience
rare traits for brilliant minds

now trust is another matter
altogether

you never should have
told me your plan
otherwise you’d still
be alive today

maybe





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
29 May 2022

Séance


I could have sworn
that I’d already started
germinating ideas
[as if I was
three years old again]
that my decrees
made perfect sense
especially the dancing parts

It’s true you left me
to my own devices
but I worked them magically
bringing back poetry
I’d written in a prior life
pleading for you to listen
to make an appearance
either in body
or in spirit





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
28 May 2022

the days I lived alone


I am trapped inside this house
a house without mirrors
all of them stolen
by mice & men

here I am left to own devices
setting traps
& replaying forty-fives
with the volume on high
as I attempt to wipe away
all the evidence
all the blood
from the bathroom
& the kitchen
and down below
where the furnace roars

I don’t really live here
anymore
it seems the mice
have taken over
a transitional situation
to say the least





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
27 May 2022
3 Comments

mental illness is not a recent phenomenon


he sits and/or stands
in his underground laboratory
some days dressed in black
other days white
[but never gray]
multi-tasking like only
a well-focused madman can do

according to fact checkers
he had three internet connections
and two 3D printers
one making weapons of mass
destruction
the other spitting out instructions
on how to make friends





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
26 May 2022
2 Comments

out of control


love can blindside you
forcing you to lose control
sometimes hitting hard
like a car accident
often flickering like a light
gaining strength
minute by minute
slowly burning into a torch
at last settling into a
constant glow

yesterday the fire
suddenly ceased to be
the rampant love fully evolved
into something
incomprehensible
sinking below & hovering above
neither physically present
nor otherworldly
perhaps temporarily
someplace in between





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
25 May 2022

Antique accent table


Wayne had a cocaine habit
and somehow dragged me into it

Otherwise he was a great guy
helped us buy our first house
by sweet talking
my grandmother-in-law
into lending us five grand
towards the down payment

And then there was the time
the furnace went out
and we all piled into his Volvo
so we could crash for the night
in his basement

Cash flow was always tight
back then
and so my generosity
but for some reason he made
perfect sense why I should lend him
one-fifty for a few days

That seemed like a century ago
and I never did
get the money back
but at least he had the decency
to let me walk through his house
and take home anything
of my choosing





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
24 May 2022

come on & kick me


it’s none of my business
about your hash pipe
I wasn’t the one to bring it up
in the first place

back in the day
we’d buy paraphernalia
when shopping for vinyls
mainly at the brady street shop
a block away from central high

[I seem to keep missing all the re-
unions even though I still live here]

next time you’re inside
two hundred miles
shoot me a telepathic note
& I’ll respond pronto
with yet another clue





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 May 2022
2 Comments

song of the dead


the complete destruction
of the inner self
man-made annihilation of the
third kind
on the verge of reinvention
of inner thought
of stillness & water & ash
a private practice
a near death experience





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 May 2022

the comeback


it’s the bottom of the eighth
and the home team
is down by one
the partial crowd
infused by fake news & alcohol
refuses to deny
that back-to-back homers
will send them into delirium





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
21 May 2022

give me your tired


appearances
how deceiving they may be
like the statue of liberty
standing in the harbor
holding back tears
all these turbulent years
shouldering injustices
handed down
from generation
to generation
ad nauseum

standing at the crossroads
where does she go
from here





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
20 May 2022

miracle of a blue moon


a sad moon waits
in the wings
the sinking sun
dissolving into
the black sea
— a passing of the torch
or the transitioning of power
from the mighty
to the mysterious
the latter making
men weep
women amassing
on the eastern horizon
bearing absolution





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
19 May 2022

thoughts between alien invasions


they keep changing the rules
from ten thousand steps
to seven
eight hours of sleep
perhaps not the magic number

when I turned thirteen
I had a five speed road bike
& a brand new baseball glove
autographed by Willie Davis
          [back then]
every now & again
I’d calculate how old I’d be
come the year two thousand

I’m not going to lie
things never got much better since
too many cars & not enough
bike lanes
          where I live

I keep telling myself
things will get better
that my sports teams will once again
rise to the top
& all the evil empires of the world
will magically evaporate





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
18 May 2022

hitching a ride out of the war zone


the television is too loud
and the radio plays softly
the ambient air
cooler than it needs to be

the clouds are low
puffy like pink elephants
roaming the skies
in search of a little drink
or a romp in a puddle of mud

all the noise from the inside
evaporates in a heartbeat
courtesy of a smart bomb
delivered from the far side

caravans become as common
as the latest virus
instinctively searching
for clear skies
like wolves or jackals
or hyenas would do





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
17 May 2022

only you can set me free


you follow me for reasons
I dare not explain
lord knows
my rise to fame
my transition to power
isn’t something I sought
rather given to me
from your invisible god

I can say anything I want
and you will be in awe
applauding my words
as if they’re your own
passing them along
to the masses
so that they may come
to appreciate the power
of personality





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
16 May 2022

the tree replacement program


we’re planting trees & singing
this one’s for you honey
name it what you will

one by one
falling from the pickup’s bed
into the hands of a queen she’s goes
into the ground she goes
everyone singing
up on the hill
this one’s for you honey
name it what you will

one day they’re gone
and the next they’re replaced
at this pace
soon we’ll be singing
it’s a brand new world honey
name it what you will





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
15 May 2022

a moveable page


done reading now listening
a virtual sheet of paper by my side
not a single thought comes to mind

how often do you digress
it doesn’t matter your age
the younger you are the clearer the text
the older you get the deeper the dive
either way possibilities are endless

what doesn’t get written today
will be dreamed about overnight
& in the morning there will be praise





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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