some men are much too dangerous
to live past their prime
and so they are taken out
as if in the ordinary course of business
anger and sadness ensues
followed by collective complacency
conspiracy theories evolve & entwine
but slowly fade from view
meanwhile life must go on
lessons still taught but rarely retained
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
For whatever reason
they shot the messenger
[yet again]
this time his dying words
proclaiming
he wasn’t the real deal
but merely a patsy
march two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
precision lightning strikes
brought down the aircraft
& their alien pilots seventy-
five miles north of roswell
the story was released
to the press as the truth
only to be redacted
by the military the next day
and that ladies & gentlemen
is how conspiracy theories
are born & perpetuated
via eerily mysterious reasons
january two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the cats and the dogs
were actively taking over
town after town
just like conspiracy theorists
had predicted
it was too incredulous
for even the
fake news
to cover
but boots on the ground
quickly found
no law or no order
in the towns that had fallen
meanwhile back on the trail
politicians took aim
at the issue
some saying there’s nary a problem
others adding fuel to the fire
with their fiery rhetoric
truth is only one person
can stop the madness
that being the one
who stirred the pets into action
in the first place
september two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
mostly a quiet neighborhood
complete with a cat colony
and an underground network
of russian-speaking moles
I’d been here for years
over two decades to be imprecise
come to learn change
doesn’t necessarily taste any better
with a grain of salt
or dash of tabasco
one year the winds swept
most of the trees away
another canoes & kayaks
became the prevalent mode
of transportation
in one corner of the garage
laid out plans for jet propulsion
& kitty-corner from there
a pair of unrepaired angel wings
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
as time passes the loss remains
though shapes & sounds continue to change
what you hear from the webspinners
is exactly what you get
not fact or fiction or partial truths
but rather an amalgamation of sorts
like a kid in a bowling alley
you really don’t know what goes on
behind the scenes
and when you start asking around
nobody else seems to know either
they say the only evidence the police found
was a skeleton key
& a letter from a former lover
saying she was happy life was boring again
now that the conspiracy has passed
february two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the lines are infectious
now the whole world is at a standstill
the little one tested positive
waiting on a number to be called
to mask or not to mask
that has become the question
bad actors reciting shakespeare
contradicting the next conspiracy
there are so many open seats
at this year’s final table
be prepared to answer yes or no
when they call your number
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s a balancing act
most people take for granted
like riding a bicycle
or reciting the pledge of allegiance
invisible forces
come & go like visible drive-bys
bullets replaced by microwaves
locked & loaded & fired
victims incapacitated
by way of an inner blasting
that is nearly indiscernible
conspiracy theories
run rampant around the west wing
the latest front line without a guard post
a virtual war zone
the enemy undefined
february two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
this isn’t happening
we’re all just living inside
a stephen king novel
who needs conspiracies
when you’ve got bats
mating with humans
creating the genesis of a
multi-generational super race
later known to be called
the delta dominant
the vaccinated are like
workers bees
bowing to their queen
promising to keep the world
in working order
while the highest of the higher-ups
strategize & forever change
the end game
june two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
conspiracies run rampant
from county to county
traveling at the speed of fedex
via air or ground
press any button
what will it be this time
panic or easy or nuclear
going up up up
this time all the way to mars
yes it’s the truth
that often gets blocked
from the colorful masses
and those samples stolen
when you were under
are causing more harm than good
in everyone else’s body
january two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they told me to take the hush money
said they wanted me to forget
all about the aliens
I met at the tropicana
aliens I repeated
I thought they were mexicans
disguised as cubans
dropping into vegas
by way of area fifty-one
it’s a bundle they said
go ahead and count it if you like
but there’s fifty grand there
immediately I imagined
I’d never see them aliens again
then wondered
if the money was any good
november two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 