jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

23 Mar 2021

wait ‘til tomorrow


I don’t think we want to take this road
from what I understand it goes straight down

or perhaps that’s exactly what we need
a thousand miles per hour descent
especially designed to take away our breath

having reached the penultimate destination
I can tell you the water from the tap
is very sweet to taste

I can tell you that the road
from this point forward offers anything
the mind can conjure




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
22 Mar 2021

not today


listen
it’s how they start their sentences
as if I wasn’t planning on listening
in the first place

if I listen too closely
to your voice
I may lose my connection
with mother earth
so I’ll slightly let you in
as long as you don’t speak
too long or too loud

I reiterate I don’t want to lose
my connection
which is more important to me
than having to listen to the likes of you

but again you say listen
insisting your words be heard
as if they were somehow being censored
by some force beyond your control

as for me though I’m tired of talking
so don’t even bother listening to me
for I’ve nothing left to say
not today
not tomorrow
not ever




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
21 Mar 2021
2 Comments

murder mystery in tel aviv


another missed opportunity
whatever the hell that means
obviously it wasn’t
supposed to happen

there is nothing to see here
whatever may have gone down
has moved on
like a violent storm
leaving you in awe but alive

I’ve become blown away
by the world around me
the one attempting
to tear me into jagged pieces
and box me up like I’m somebody
else’s latest & greatest challenge




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
20 Mar 2021

living in interesting times


there is a divide
between how we got here
and whether a history
stained from the beginning
matters or not

how do you fix something
that’s always been broken
even though at the time
people believed
in what they were doing

living in interesting times
has become so passé
I want to start living
somewhere in the future




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
19 Mar 2021
3 Comments

he only wanted to be a country boy


story after story
guns & knives & ideological hatred
I try to imagine a world without it

he always said he wanted
to be a country boy
but that’s not likely
once sentenced to thirty years

we keep killing
young ones at an alarming rate
whether by war or neglect or hunger
and those pushers behind bars
easily recycle misinformation




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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,
18 Mar 2021

mass evacuations & caravans


the air became thinner than usual
as if it was ghosting right through me

last night a series of explosions
ripped through the city like a cat 5 tornado

for whatever reason I lost my sense of smell
back when we were crawling on highway 13

I’m reminded of the latest prophecy
that anything gas-powered will no longer work

come sunrise there was nothing but big sky
far from a metropolis that may or may not exist




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

Posted in In the City, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
17 Mar 2021

living in fear or otherwise


talk to people without using words
paint them a picture instead
the heartless climbing stone walls
long in line getting permits to eat & drink
permits to seek & destroy and sail away

now you are telling your story
using gestures & wild wild sounds
making the floor tremble ever so slightly
making your unbelieving eyes see further
than they’ve ever seen before

this coming down to earth business
will one day come into play
but until then there is much unearthing to do
for what lies beneath the surface
is not as scary as you were led to believe




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
16 Mar 2021

shopping on a saturday afternoon


look she said
followed by a bunch more words
I couldn’t tell you to this day
what they were

I was traveling way back at the time
back when I wore a batman
or superman cape
curious in otherworldly things
yet imperfectly insular

having returning to the streets
of san bernardino
I agree with her notions unwittingly

she rolls her eyes
giving me this one-of-a-kind smile
saying next time you better
take me with you
you know I’ve always wanted to go




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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
15 Mar 2021
3 Comments

while my stereo plays


c’mon man
let’s hit the streets
& see what kind of action
awaits us

now that the clocks
are ticking differently
we can change things up
and become someone
we are not

by day or by night
what lights up the sky
is one in the same
running or hiding on any
given hour
loving to be chased
dying to be shot at




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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged ,
14 Mar 2021
4 Comments

while listening to suffragette city


we’re not talking anymore
but that’s okay
something about what she said
and what he didn’t

there was nothing in the mail today
and naturally I took that as
some kind of sign

as the day wore on I kept thinking
about what happened and what didn’t

later on I was in the kitchen
dicing celery & onion & green pepper
[bowie singing through the airwaves]
my mind wandering
repeating under my breath
I should know better




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

Posted in Poetry
13 Mar 2021

my country tis of thee


I do not have a place
to call home
for I am but a visitor here
or so I’ve come to learn

I did not have a say
in how & where I landed
and I am well aware
this land that I occupy
belongs to someone else

there are many connections
yet to be made before moving on
desirous of making amends
with the true inheritors
of this bountiful land




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
12 Mar 2021
7 Comments

here I come again


march unleashed the lion
and suddenly everyone
started breathing again

it won’t be long though
before she’s dead & gone
naturally replaced by
wildflowers & pollinators




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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
11 Mar 2021
2 Comments

last summer


it is summer again
though this time it’s different
aerial artists spelling out words
across a clear blue sky
resonating with how you feel

there is no changing of the guard
or replacing the old with the new
there is only forward progression
as if living inside a movie reel

with each passing summer
something new dies
and as another night draws near
you find more artists in the sky
spelling out their names




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
10 Mar 2021
2 Comments

dear diary


or whatever it is you are calling
yourself these days
I’m beginning to believe
you’re stepping into a brand
new world
slightly the same
but maybe edgier [or tamer]
just can’t quite
put a finger on it

I recall you asking me
if a cat has nine lives
how many more shouldn’t we

it’s all about the math
you went on to explain
and me vividly remembering
writing it all down




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
09 Mar 2021
2 Comments

a gathering


it was the middle of march
and the big chill arrived right on time
it was a saturday
no sun no rain no moon

the house was full of silence
never had so many souls
walked about the place
words limited
children practicing sign language
in the living room

there were two birds
sitting in the bush
as if overseeing the whole
proceedings
boldly defying the stone
planted there in the grass




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
08 Mar 2021

Afraid to die


Afraid to die not afraid
which is it man
please make up your mind

But isn’t that the way it goes
everything is temporary
making decisions & then
reversing them
perhaps by way of public opinion
or simply because you don’t
know how to think for yourself

I used to think everyone
was afraid to die
but yes how naive & foolish
that now seems
having come to witness
the rebirth of man & woman alike




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →