it’s a complicated thing
trying to live in the past
whether it be via memories
or physical reality itself
the theory of experience
is like a bulletproof vest
hanging on the door hook
next time you’ll probably
take it with you
if there is a next time
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I thought I’d seen it all
now how ridiculous is that to say
this day & age
the thing is what you’ve seen
thus far is the tip of the melting iceberg
when it comes to expressions
we seem to take
the easy way out
like taking up arms for real estate
or bullying out of sheer boredom
truth is the fat lady will never
stop singing
and the pot is sure to boil
but what’s up in the air
seems to never want to come down
like an alien in waiting
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I saw my medicine doctor
at the local beverage depot
walking in we exchanged glances
It wasn’t until after he left
I remembered who he was
perhaps he did the same about me
We didn’t need
to see each other anymore
that is how we had left it
maybe thirty moons ago
A few weeks later I started seeing
angels in my periphery
& taking note of the voices
philosophizing inside my head
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the communication
has been spotty
mostly due to
long fought wars
& some climate change
I was told to go to my
gray room & there I stay
a prisoner of my own mind
solving rubik’s cube
after rubik’s cube
but unable to temper & tame
not a single thing
not a cat nor a mouse
neither a mangy canine
nor bengal tiger
I have paper & pencil
& there is a slot that
wants to be a window
one that gives & takes
one that admonishes
in one breath
& forgives in another
at least the gray room
is no longer white
I like it that way
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
scores of countries
are currently at war
can you name them
can you name them all
insurgencies & civil
drug & trade
so many wars in so little time
death & destruction
urban cities or rural countryside
children & women
men & animals
mass murdered by war
recycled like raw material
leaders become illegitimate
in a matter of minutes
pushing buttons
calling on their machines
to massacre before our very eyes
this the twenty-first century
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I was reading poetry by Nikki G
for some reason made me
start thinking of Bukowski
Both of them are gone now
if ever there is such a thing
Like me they’ll always live on
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we are ingrained in repetition
long before we were born
before then we already knew
rivers run into the sea
& stars fall from the sky
you’ve learned by way of music
how riders of the storm
were born into this lonely house
and so you close your eyes
dancing in the center of
your own universe
one in which has no ending
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
nothing’s new in the world
striped tigers in arenas
& armed men in jungles
thousands dying by day
inside cramped quarters
or in ever greater expanses
escapes are different today
not like whipping ‘round
the dark side of the moon
so many eyes set on the west
vast migrations looking up
at passenger starships
you’ve been uprooted
recruited & participating in
some master grander scheme
born as nothing but a bit player
soaking in the sun
& walking the beach
(waiting for the call)
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the daffodil knows
everything about the first & last
the beginning of the end
of eternal spring
what is not written
holds steady like stasis
handed down by way of mouth
word for word for word
underground stories
are the most dangerous
everchanging
& subversively challenging
the status quo
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
whose machination is this
capable & probably taking out
the dark prince
when it’s all over
nostradamus will be
prognosticating again
this time from mars
resurrected & freely roving
by way of artificial intelligence
the wars will never end (on earth)
neither on the ground nor in the seas
not in any airspace
either here or in outer space
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
paranoia is a dangerous thing
unpredictable & delirious
like a deadly spider in a dream
there are no photographs to be kept
either having been burned
or lost to the forest
taproots turning them into new
memories for the dead
fear the dark knight
the rider of your subconscious
galloping full speed in the darkness
consumed by the fog of war
& willing to die by the sword
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it is in between seasons
a mixture of worn out colors
making the ground & sky
appear as an open sea
a baby’s cry can be heard
from within
a sure sign that someone
is coming back to life
not long ago I could behold
or perceive your breath
in the open air or beyond
my wildest imagination
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
in the kitchen I keep a jar filled with words
but for the past few days it’s been empty
and I can’t seem to do the math
to have it refilled again
though he’s not been seen for days
I’ve been told curiosity (the cat) is alive & well
hanging out on the west side
maybe he’s the reason things are off-kilter
and if only he’d return
the world would simply right itself
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
burning down the forest
doesn’t seem like the right thing to do
whether in times of peace or war
it’s not like you can make carbon copies
of hundreds of thousands of trees
replacing them within a generation or two
after having the enemy succumbed to flames
it’s not like you can stitch & sew time
making it nineteen ninety-nine all over again
before the world became more complicated
than la niña or an impossible crossword
ever since the first shots were fired
blackbirds continue to gather at the border
in numbers innumerable
patiently waiting for all hell to break loose
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
where has the queen gone
now that war has broken out
does she dare show her face
in person let alone the air waves
or will she remain in the shadows
laying low like a commoner
they say the opposing forces
are invisible like the wind
moving in & out of the kingdom
like a knight without a country
picking & choosing allegiances
one war-torn city at a time
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how many of them are us
born without a homeland
left to find your own identity
displacement is not new
go ask any dinosaur
having survived the initial blast
news of a madman’s war
infiltrates the airwaves
something old is new again
the house down the street
caught fire overnight
will probably take a year to repair
I look out the bay window
counting my blessings
adding peanut butter to the list
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 