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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “birds”

07 Oct 2017
7 Comments

blackbirds biding their time


twilighty on an october evening
cats a’meowing and quiet moon
maybe making an appearance

I’ve seen you in this race before
maybe it was ten years ago
or maybe it was yesterday

these pockmarks on my cheeks
they don’t mean a thing
I regret you ever saw them

those moons we rarely see
orbiting worlds we barely know
absolutely belong here

and why you decided to go
long before your time
has everything to do with them





october two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , ,
05 Dec 2016
11 Comments

like a canary in a cage


anyone can write the monday blues
how the fog maybe lifts by noon
smartphones unable to upgrade
all on their own

the list grows longer whether it’s
monday or not
liberty or death is
(a matter of) life and breath
invisible wounds like words
perhaps self-inflicted or
suspiciously accidental

there is an artist who really
knows for sure
but they aren’t playing in any
kind of rhythm and blues band

oh no they ain’t singing
like a canary in a cage
dreaming of the sky




december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
17 Apr 2016
6 Comments

birdsong in my mind


sorrowful soul mate
casting nets
from a sparse pine
comes up empty time & again

determined to move on
one tree at a time
the song forever weaves
through solitary twilight


april two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
09 Jul 2015
4 Comments

passing the torch


if the birds don’t rule this world
nobody knows who does

they fly in and out of dreams
as if they had been here before

first to awaken they stir the frost
with slow motion wings
opening promises above the clouds

in prehistoric times they fed without
fear of twenty gauge buckshot

back in the future they learn
to penetrate outer atmospheres

they’ve seen it all and they pass their
knowledge onto future generations
long after migrating from this world



july two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
30 May 2015
12 Comments

changing of the seasons


little bird with no song to sing
asks the wind permission
to borrow a tune
she remembered hearing the
morning of her birth

it was a little ditty a child
could pick up
rife with high notes
and often mistaken as a flute
or a fife or a piccolo

the wind carried her voice
far beyond the hills
touching the loneliest of creatures
in search of comfort and warmth
before the inevitable frost



may two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
24 Dec 2014
12 Comments

the cry of the starling


on this night of nights a lost
starling sings his lonely song
as a pale moon chases
venus high above the tallest trees
and faint stars transit the unknown

on this night of nights a natural
flame flickers and streams
chain reacting and traveling swiftly
to the four corners of the world
sparked by the cry of the lonely starling
ushering in a brand new light





december two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
05 Aug 2014
13 Comments

catbird singing (in the dead of night)


catbird chirps along stone walls
saying look at me
follow me
this way where the water flows

trim and proper in tailored suit
catbird mimics
moon walking
whistling across dance floor

tricks up sleeves and a beak
full of pranks
catbird screams
like a wee lad crying wolf

one eye on brighter side
falling sun
invites night flight
catbird chasing brand new day



august two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
19 Jul 2014
7 Comments

birdhouse


in your free time bright ideas
arise out of thin air
and fizzle into nothingness

more often than not
trial and error leads you
tossing your thoughts to the birds
and you wonder if they will feed on them
or regurgitate them like earthworms

but if you’re industrious enough
you can incubate them
study them
nurture them
transform them with
wood and glue and nails

on lazy weekend afternoons
you sit and listen to birds happily
singing to their little ones
and you realize it’s best
to deconstruct your inner thoughts
and rebuild them into something
better than before




july two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
22 Jun 2014
4 Comments

true interpretations


it rained all night
and while I slept sharks
swam in circles around my body
either protecting me from myself
or saving me for later

awakened by wind sweeping in
morning sunshine
I took to the kitchen
coffee maker abuzz
birds of the air outside my window
like chatty statuettes
swapping old stories

settling back into real-time solitude
I revisit casualties
both foreign and domestic
making headlines on print and
television and internet
their bodies dead or dying
my prayers hoping they find
doves soaring on the other side

unable to shake the current
course of events
I stare into my oversized cup
of morning petroleum
dorsal fins circling above the surface
daring me to find out the true
interpretation to my dream


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Nature, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , ,
06 Jun 2014
2 Comments

ode to the sea bird


bird of prey
invisible in flight
dies a hero’s death
rises on the other side

bird renewed
transgressing in time
dives past new moons
attacks as meteorites

bird of the ark
born inside a lab
circles among the clouds
destined to find land


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
03 Oct 2013
19 Comments

tomorrow’s sunrise


wake me up and tell me
to eat something nutritious
like a bowl of peacefulness

wake me up and ask me
to read something beautiful
that will make me mindful
all roads lead to somewhere

teach me to wake up
with the birds as my alarm
while traces of morning light
illuminates my inner thoughts

teach me to wake up
to the fact that one day I will be
looking down on a world
that is no longer mine
smiling knowing I left my mark
a few are certain to find

wake me up
so I may grind some beans
and share them with you
on a rainy saturday morning

I may not always be here
but I will always
wake up
if not here
then somewhere else
where you are certain to find me


october two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
19 Aug 2013
2 Comments

catch me if you can


the bird in the stream
loves to scream at midnight
when deep in her sleep

she dreams of elegant legs
to-die-for tail feathers
and a graceful neckline

no longer interested in
fly-by-night playboys
she catches her limit
before the rooster’s crow





august two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
20 Apr 2013
10 Comments

eight hundred flowers


on the most sorrowful day floral arrangements
accompany the winding road

as the birds of the field sing their joyful songs
nearby wildflowers weep and sway

newly clipped roses wrapped in paper produce
smiles once believed long gone

wherever a child is knee-deep in raw color
never let time pass away


april two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
18 Apr 2013
4 Comments

a call to arms


the circle invitation
echoes from miles around
from a solitary flyer
high above the flooded
creek near oxfordshire

days of endless rain create
casualties on the ground
ripe for the taking
by just about anything
remotely intelligent

the size of the circle
grows wing by black wing
gaining strength and sailing
like a school of fish
in the overcast sky

once reconnaissance
confirms an opening
the dark circle transforms
into a ruthless carnivore
spiraling toward the earth




april two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
01 Sep 2012
4 Comments

little bird


little bird with little love
sits atop a lemon tree
hopes to turn into a dove
and live his life with ease

little bird with little friends
feeds upon a giving heart
longs to soar and pretend
his tweets are like a lark

little bird with little dreams
slowly heals his broken wing
soon to feast on tangerines
ripening across the spring


september two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
09 Jun 2012

Quetzalcoatl


The Feathered Serpent
ruled land and sky
a supernatural deity
worshiped for his duality

When the Fourth Sun
perished in the flood
he traveled deep
beneath the Earth
created a Fifth World
by espousing his own blood
through self-inflicted wounds
to transfuse the bones
of the living dead



june two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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