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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “angels”

28 Dec 2023
2 Comments

not going back home anytime soon


when I finished the book
I took it with me to the library
—they said they didn’t have this one
and I said now you do

the pigeons on the front steps
don’t know how to read
but if they did they’d quickly find out
it’s best to hang with the ducks

just a few city blocks away
I made my way to the lake
(which is really just a big shallow pond
w/geese & ducks & an occasional pelican)
a new book under my wing
something about angels
looking homeward

sitting down on a bench
I kept the book shut
watched the walkers & joggers
& cyclists going by
wings tucked under their shoulders
not a single pigeon in sight





december two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Nov 2023

hypocrisy


tell me who is happy
at least those in the know
or even the ones wearing
rose-colored glasses

I understand many angels
have descended
where the bombings
are the heaviest
mending their own wings
while tending to casualties

—how dare the rest of us grow old
witnessing the powers within

[in the meantime]

peace loving people
are handcuffed & blindfolded
{many left for dead
& therefore the angels}
held hostage & violated
by way of a broken world
and empty promises





november two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
10 Nov 2023

before the sun comes up


the night is young
ageless like a new moon
at the break of dawn
a trio of violinists
tuning their instruments
in a field of wheat
seven angels harmonizing
holding golden tapers
shimmering like the stars





november two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Aug 2023
2 Comments

angels in the bay


I’m not where I think I am
having left my body
due to a medical event

doctors & nurses
respond frantically
putting into practice their craft
someone shouting
code blue code blue code blue

a strange sounding siren
weaves through the hallways
those trained to run
moving swiftly
purposefully

by the time they arrive
I’ve entered the tunnel
swimming toward the lighthouse
a beacon of hope I believe
a row boat coming into view

denying my entry into their vessel
the boaters demand I reverse
my course
the light around us
suddenly extinguishing
—I turn & pause & begin to swim
back to where I started





august two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
06 Aug 2023

outside the third dimension


seeing things in the peripheral
that are not there

a roman soldier delivering the mail

a mother suddenly in tears

an angel pirouetting

beneath the streetlamp

who’s to say what is not real
on this here & now planet

presenting images as she pleases
occasionally in obvious ways





august two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
05 Aug 2023

styling like a songbird


I’ve been down this road before
but never alone
always before someone by my side
oh how times have changed

there is nothing bitter sweet
to endings & beginnings
—necessary cycles
in the grand scheme of things

you see that bird following me
has been there all along
lo these many years
only now have I taken notice

there is a certain style to her song
mainly repetitive but
occasionally improvising
as if to say see
you are just like me





august two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
15 Jun 2023

wings like black angels


boarded up castle windows
three stories tall
wider & taller than the original
castle windows
landing areas for black birds
ravens or grackles or cowbirds
circling the perimeter as if on patrol
playing a game without a name
occupying the ledges
for moments at a time
unable to penetrate the fortress
one alighting on a ledge
only to have another depart
sometimes two or three at a time
orbiting the castle as much as
attempting to occupy the ledge
picking a different window each time
but always coming & going
circling & swooping & climbing higher
spreading their wings like black angels
though never once not spiraling
down to the ground





june two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
16 May 2023
8 Comments

celestial intelligence


you can only hope to outlive it
the system of the clouds
designed to wear you down
with or without shadows

a woman with wings
swoops near the surface & accelerates
back into the sky
—most likely she is not alone

how far they’ve traveled
is a matter of speculation
it’s as if they’ve been here before
the way they know
the terrain
the way they call your name

it’s never too late to change
they seem to be saying
coaxing you out of the cave
insinuating it’s safe again
to see the light of day





may two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserve

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , ,
01 Nov 2022
2 Comments

an unlikely analog


I am not what I seem
a broken clock on a shelf
stuck at 11:19 and 19 seconds

it matters not if it’s morning
or night
the broken do not know
the difference
and if they tell you that they do
they are liars

when time abruptly stood still
I learned to walk about
without having to use my legs
spending hours inside the cathedral
deciding which station
I loved the best
and hated the most

[impossible
I would tell myself
for without time
there can be no hours]

I once believed they were
angels
communicating with me
in a language of vibrations
one I learned to comprehend
all on my own

but now
I am not so sure





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
16 Oct 2022

intermediary


I was reading poetry featuring angels
in one form or another

for some reason
they don’t appear to be
as relevant as they used to
whether embedded in the spoken word
or manifested in the latest
and greatest artistry on canvas

spotting one on the street
can be tricky
their divine light & birdlike wings
most likely kept under wraps
whether trailing someone
at the grocery store
or sitting patiently at the local tavern
monitoring a lost soul crying in their beer





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

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
29 Sep 2022
3 Comments

angel as a songbird


I’m not going to rhyme
I swear I won’t
even though this poem
is about a songbird

there are seven of them
[actually]
inside the bush
swapping silly stories
thriving on higher vibes

a single gust of wind
sets them aflutter
alighting where required
to give aid & comfort





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

Posted in Birds, Dogma, Poetry and tagged , ,
29 Mar 2022

alone behind the sun


where do you start the story
a constant change
the river rises
& she falls
there is no beginning
but the ending is all but certain
a colossal possibility
like wings crafted by dædalus

you sit alone bewildered
wondering what’s
behind the eyes
of the sun
a story rich in ancestry
reworked & rewritten
ever unfolding & far reaching
like a flashmob of angels





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

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Oct 2021
5 Comments

waiting on an omen


someone tried telling me
there are no good or bad omens
that there are only omens

in retrospect people
are inclined to say
they should have seen it coming
as if they’re a modern day prophet
or simply clairvoyant

on the patio at the corner bistro
three angels vape & discuss
the complexities of current times

most pedestrians walk by
not noticing
or disregarding their wings
            but I don’t
I stop & take a seat at the bar
waiting to be waited on





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
14 Oct 2021

pretty angels all in a row


the grass is greener today
an exception to the rule

maybe it’s due to the sun
momentarily appearing
a reminder that finer days
used to be the norm

out east old world shadows
are hard to come by
while the wild wild west is just that
calling upon accidental heroes
to rewrite recent histories

all the while refugees arrive
by way of land & sea
universally speaking of peace
& waving in an army of angels





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
22 Sep 2021
2 Comments

angels in my peripheral


I kept believing in my peripheral
but there was nothing there
rural mailbox not a hitchhiker
yellow utility pole not a giraffe

three angels work in the east room
validating dice & drawing straws

you said it was a good place
to unlock & unload
& so away I went to converse
with the sounds inside the woods

once inside I doubted my return
two or three angels in my peripheral





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
01 Jun 2021

early in the morning


hand me your dream
let me take it from there
let’s see how far
we can stretch the sky

it’s been ages
since I’ve heard voices
finally returning
to calm me down

I used to think angels
disguised themselves
as red wing blackbirds
restless by the roadside




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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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