jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

27 Mar 2022

Nuclear Sub


three AM here we go again
sleep walking across the ocean floor
gills for cheeks
& breathing quite naturally
gravity simply a concept
from twelve thousand feet below

once back in the racks
REM sleep returns to sender
a sailor & his sweetheart
the latter whispering
we’ve just begun
please make it last all night

ninety days fast approaching
the awakening is near
lights flashing & sirens sounding
the crew in position
the captain commanding
prepare to launch ASAP





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
26 Mar 2022

all of the lonely people


all the beautiful people
stealing what they may
from all of the lonely people
the ones passing you by
like ghosts in the night
listening & maybe chatting
giving & taking without
a single body
ever
knowing





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
25 Mar 2022

Resistance


Whatever it was it’s broken
tossed out for all to see
like a rusted out tractor
pushed to the treeline
a photo opportunity for any
passerby with a camera

Take a good look for yourself
nothing works here anymore
screws loose or cards lost
piggy bank shattered to pieces
the water out of the tap
nothing but an unsteady drip

Inside this sprawling city
buildings implode
with the flash of the light
minute by minute & block by block
the beaten & broken
keep coming back to life





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
24 Mar 2022

on playing god


when you don’t think
but simply do
that’s the condition
you are after
a natural state of motion
actively determinable
but unrealized in the mind

from there you sit still
in the center
of your own indifference
naturally at ease
pausing without reason
rewinding at will & replaying
all that you’ve done





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 Mar 2022

life before your very eyes


it’s gone
whatever it was
a flashing light
a fleeting thought
a glimpse deep within a newly
created memory
most likely not to be recalled
anytime soon
spared the permanency
of any & all airwaves
perhaps recorded
in some other fashion
in such a way we may
never understand
until time has long passed
and there it is
long last
staring you in the eye





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
22 Mar 2022
2 Comments

changing of the guard


it takes energy
to sustain energy
to create & recreate

the mirror understands
goes back in time
your neck at an angle
trying to decipher if what
you saw is what you recall

they’re making money
out of thin air
tens of thousands of machines
mining like virtual maniacs
their controllers hoping to
strike gold again
secluded in the sierra foothills

it’s understood some cities
are being flattened
old bosses with their old technologies
laying to waste their arsenals
out of sheer boredom





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,
21 Mar 2022

a time of great change


there’s not been much talk
of late about april or rain
or easter sunday

on the news they say
the drought is ongoing
children in the heartland
growing thirstier by the hour
children in the theater of war
running for their lives

nobody goes to church anymore
of course that is a lie
not as big as some others
but perfectly relevant as it relates
to the presently prevailing antichrist





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

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Mar 2022
2 Comments

bittersweet


addicted to the unknown
& because we don’t know any better
we shame ourselves
by exposing our bodies & souls
up & down the avenue

on the shoreline
we casually collect seashells
& look at ourselves in the mirror
unlocking the mysteries
to the goddess of love

by eventide we turn away
throwing away the unconquerable
but keeping what matters most
the off-white angel wings
& footprints in the sand





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

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , ,
19 Mar 2022
2 Comments

a study of assassination


a beautiful shot is what you would call it
a well thought out plan expertly executed

what else would you expect for one million pounds
paid via wire transfer to the caymans

the most important thing was the publicity
entire world knowing the end of the end is near

the fighting & the lies & the supersonic missiles
surprisingly cease to be talking points

the mainstream media & the underground unite
all because of a terroristic precision strike

fired from two hundred fifty yards away
hitting its integral & intended target





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
18 Mar 2022
2 Comments

without knowing what it means


the plagiarist was working
on sublime messages
having been reminded of something
socrates once wrote about poetry

stitch & sew & repeat ad nauseam
forever shutting the one eye
that could see through anything
calling out you’re a liar
look & see your pants are on fire

mentors & proteges often clash
dueling for the honor of who wrote what
a winner take all proposition
the loser sentenced to silence





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
17 Mar 2022
2 Comments

compassion


putting things into perspective
could be the worst thing
for the psyche

in other words
forget about making sense
of the material world

instead seek all possible ways
to free yourself
from your body

and from there & there only
will you come
to understand compassion





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
16 Mar 2022
2 Comments

Compromise


True stories can be found
in fiction
& in poetry

Of course there is a caveat
isn’t there always
how we decided what parts
happened
& which parts did not

Is it true you really
died on me
come & gone in a matter
of minutes
leaving me to deal
w/your federal agents

Someone in the know
told me you actually lived on
residing comfortably
in Mexico City
or Santa Fe

Turning off all the lights
I imagine you’re still with child





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

Posted in Poetry
15 Mar 2022

all things poetic


write some words for me
and then read them
to me
push me pull me
lift my spirit
out of my body
make my mind pause
inside a peaceful presence
the sound on all four sides
like a seashell
your voice in the background
gradually gaining volume





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
14 Mar 2022

changing plans on the fly


what else is there to talk about
now that the storms have passed

I was told it would go down like this
first the great divide & then the fall

in my mind the great resignation
was more like a melancholy separation
especially when compared to the present

I’m done waiting or moving in lines
for some handout I could do without

there are plenty of other ways to escape
open your mind & I’ll show you





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
13 Mar 2022

a frail grudge


instead of pushing a button
I snail mail a handwritten note
saying please call me

of course I signed my name
in an unfriendly kind of cursive
sure to trigger an emotion

a few days pass by
& by then I’d forgotten that you’d
forgotten how to forgive





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
12 Mar 2022

from scratch


it didn’t seem that long ago
we made a pact to unlock
the secret of the soul
mixing magnesium water
with liquid mercury rising
on the south side of town
plucking yellow dandelion leaves
stirring them into the pot
wooden spoon
wooden heart
until death do us part
the steam accumulating
causing laughter & hallucinations
skin peeling off like an asp
exposing ribs but no soul
disappointed we start
all over again from scratch





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

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

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