jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “cartoons”

a sunday affair


a morning with promise
sunday before
sunrise

a child awakens
one of eight
sneaking downward
spiraling like a mouse between
the woodwork
advancing to the far corner of the ship
—the only television set
sits cold on the credenza

on the screen
johnny quest
bullwinkle & rocky
dudley do-right
go go gophers
who remembers them all

but something
more sinister awaits
in the next room
a flash of light
shadows moving slowly
soft metallic sounds

suddenly frozen
the child
pauses everything
playing out his own doom


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

Stone Soup


I’m in the kitchen
making stone soup
stirring the pot with a wooden ladle
that used to be a paddle

The doorbell rings
and I yell let yourself in
next thing I know there’s a white rabbit
handing me a couple of carrots
—I cut them into coins
& toss them into the pot

One by one my furry friends
drop by to donate to the soup
make themselves at home in the TV room
Nick at Nite replaying old Looney Tunes

white rabbit
yellow duck
brown bear
one wild & one domesticated dog
three kittens and two pussy cats
a mouse & marsupial & weasel
& all sorts of striped animals
salivating at the mouth
laughing at Tom & Jerry


When the supper bell rings
the TV turns dark
& the lights brighten
slurping sounds soon abounding
empty tummies quickly filling





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

bar hopping outside toontown


so here we are again friday at five
sitting amongst the best and worst
telling new tales and rehashing tall ones

this old boy from toontown drops by
and takes off in a whirlwind
buying a round for the gang before
hailing benny the cab

you know he sure looks familiar
someone says
almost everyone else agreeing
swearing they’ve seen his mug before
either on cartoon network or silver screen

jessica the beautiful barkeep
pretends not to be listening
but perks up and smiles wryly
shaking her head when asked
if she had any idea
who that long-eared bloke might be




may two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all right reserved

while looking for cheaters


I stood in the kitchen dumbfounded
body leaning toward the counter
my arms stretched out
my hands gripping the edge
preventing me from falling straight down

once again short-term memory gaps
have poked holes into my productivity
the interruption of progressive thoughts
leading me down avenues of days long gone
like when I wore batman capes
and had real conversations with the mailman

I remember once when I was five
on an early sunday morning
all alone in the great room watching cartoons
my body laid out with elbows on the carpet
and chin resting inside my hands
when all of a sudden a dull clash
resonated from the kitchen and slowly
bounced it’s way into the great room

I dared not move one iota

as I stared into the kitchen
tall shadows moved about the inner walls
no doubt cast by the breeze nudging the evergreens
but I was petrified nonetheless
and hid like a stone waiting to be found


march two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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