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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “afterlife”

08 Feb 2022
7 Comments

outside the vessel

for Robert J. St. Clair, Jr.


where have you gone
old friend in the obituary

brown beady eyes
exactly like nineteen seventy-one
looking to the side
and down
so as not to be caught looking

you once told me you felt
vacant inside
leaving me to wonder
if that’s how it always was
or did you come to terms
with who you had become

you’ve been a stranger to me
decades on end
and I imagine you must understand
more than I ever will
at least for the moment
while I remain inside this vessel





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
25 Jan 2022

living doggedly in the present


the trick of the brain
differs from the trick of the soul
the former having to do
with mental calisthenics
the latter all about dreams

repetition goes a long way
toward mastering
the memory of dreams
always deep within
rarely showing their true colors

it is like a two-edged sword
this need for solving dreams
reliving past lives & futuristic skies
though seemingly forever
stuck in the present





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
10 May 2021

sounds of the earth & of the wind


the lightning abandoned the night
giving way to ashes falling like snow
white covering a fading darkness
like a shadow losing its life

there is no memory of yesterday
only the clarity of today
of tomato bisque & baked cod
served in the center free of charge

lines kept getting longer
in this ever complicated nation
interconnected with the underground
& all things afloat or suspended

lifted from grief & whisked away
consciousness evolved
into a perennial sunflower
its seeds grounded in the multiverse




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

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

going nowhere fast


listen there is so much more to learn
before moving on to the next plane
but for some reason you’re stuck in a field of mud
not one soul within shouting distance

when the rains come you’ll be able
to make your way to a better place
but in the meantime there is so much to consider
now that you’ve scored more time

moving forward or back matters not
it’s the constant motioning you seek
as if you’ve acquired the wings of a hummingbird
now so very busy but going nowhere




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Feb 2019
2 Comments

when it rains


there is precipitation in the sky
improvising as falling ice
pinging partially-filled glasses
and producing magical notes
music piped into the city square
unexpected dancers sporting umbrellas
smiling under artificial light
twisting and twirling and portraying
life as a grand affair




february two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
04 Feb 2019
7 Comments

making room for more space


I’ve been keeping an eye on the sky
and an ear to the ground
deciphering signals that may
[or may not] be trying to reach me

forgive me for my absence
but I’ve been on an improbable mission
secretly recruited to test the limits
beyond the known exosphere

voices ebb and flow nearly undetectable
flashes of light impersonating
past and present and future
quietly striding along moving shadows

there is a breakthrough to be made
that much I am quite certain
but whether it happens in this world
[or the next] is subject to interpretation





february two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
27 Jun 2018
5 Comments

on becoming a mere memory


how you knew so far in advance
remains a mystery to this day
unless of course you had miraculously
rediscovered your clairvoyance at the
exact time I relinquished my rights
to any sort of extrasensory perception

though unprepared to give up anything
(especially in my formative years)
I transfer all powers I once possessed
(whether real or imaginary) to you




june two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
13 Jun 2018
2 Comments

a lesson in forgiving oneself


so here we are again
resting comfortably on the veranda
              subconsciously
dissecting the gemini new moon
reminiscing about what could have been
       and what will be
after we have left this earth

emotional scars supercede
the physical variety
              the former carried
into the afterlife
       the latter simply becoming
compost or better yet
              burns in the fire

it’s perfectly fine to have regrets
but the chances of being born again
              increase tenfold
and if not ~ well there are no guarantees
       that the sky is ever the limit




june two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
18 May 2017
19 Comments

we shall not speak of death this day


I awoke to a day without news
and quietly wondered if I had landed in heaven

deciding such thoughts are for birds
incapable of flight
I abandoned the notion
at the same time noticing
there were no winds
and no clouds

nor was there rain or sunshine

I was sitting at the base of a sunflower
that had grown ten stories tall
reading from scrolls that were written
before the earth became blue

there is an end to every story
someone once told me
but as for this one
it is only just beginning




may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
02 Jan 2017
9 Comments

taken to a nearby hospital


the city was on fire
and I was like a lost lamb
roaming past identical houses
hoping the next turn opens up
to a countryside I once knew by heart

they say the nightlife is the best here
where the most beautiful people gathered
to forget the past

but then it was gone in a flash
like a trick of the mind
there you see it
there you don’t
limbs gyrating like an egyptian
eyes mesmerized
believing just about anything

there was a man with a staff
crying out in the city center
where the river divided the land
and though I was perfectly lost
I heard him clearly above the
sirens and screams and
deadly detonations



january two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , ,
07 Oct 2016
8 Comments

like no tomorrow


my inner clock
wakes me when
I am tired
reminds me to take
pictures of my past
whether or not I’ll ever
revisit them

napping on couch
sunrays creep inside
my cobweb dreams
shaking them
making my eyelids flutter

photographs flash
frame after frame
like an accelerating
motion picture
the sun hardly
visible on bright canvass
falling rapidly like a
comet with no tomorrow



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
29 May 2016
7 Comments

the moon you know is no longer mine


it’s hard for me to imagine
I’ve moved on these past few seconds
but in reality was so many moons ago

if only you had an idea
what I’ve gone through
to make it to the other side
you would easily understand
how precious are the wormholes

when I said I was good to go
that was a lie
but now that I’m gone
I’m happy to report
there is something seriously happy
happening on the other side


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
19 Jan 2016
2 Comments

flash powder


what have I contributed
to the cause
keeping the music alive and
guarding elephants
from poachers

I’ve given up aerosol sprays
and gasoline
marlboro lights
store-bought soup
and religion

how much more do I have to give

that constant humming in my ear
is that just a warning from
my guardian angel
or simply a reminder
how those widely admired
can easily be swept away
like a night owl’s prey
silently screaming

absolution doesn’t exist
in the blink of an eye
and even if it did
no act of contrition could
prevent anyone from
seeing the light


january two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
19 Oct 2015

riding new waves


you run like the wind
void of thought
breathless
chasing spirits into
the fading light

on the other side
there are souls
in limbo
hoping to follow your
every command

turning on the light
nerves scatter
in waves
circling past prior lives
sailing your way


october two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
14 Oct 2015
6 Comments

that lonesome road


repressed memories lay in shadows
begging to be found
along the side of the road
leading to a place called redemption

I was supposed to pick up the pieces
but I was busy
losing track of precious time
barreling down this lonesome highway

forgive me for my forgetfulness
those wildflowers found
in the middle of somewhere
were meant to bloom in your memory

this love I possess is eternal
quietly moves on
past tomorrow’s horizon
and beyond the roadway to the stars


october two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,
05 Oct 2015
2 Comments

ghost of my former self


I always enjoy my time
walking amongst the living
dressed in off-white and
uninterested in success
briefcase in one hand
wall street journal in the other
umbrella purposefully left behind
in a vacated train seat

I once met an angel
while witnessing a stabbing
on sunset boulevard
quickly turned my back
because her light was too bright
her tucked wings a reminder
I can’t possibly find my way
without first learning to fly


october two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , ,

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