jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “crows”

20 Jan 2024
2 Comments

two-thirty in the afternoon


death is in the next room
waiting to be called
deleting apps rarely used
on the smartphone

meanwhile in the family room
everyone is alive & well
including the eldest
recently revived
by an emergency room doctor

back in the next room
death stands at the bay window
counting crows gathering atop rooftops
watching the waning crescent
descending past the white pines





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

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , ,
12 Jan 2024
3 Comments

the winter hold


days before the blizzard arrived
I noticed a small family of crows
visiting the neighborhood
leaving me pondering what on earth
they were doing here
having strayed from the larger gathering
that couldn’t have been that far away
—or perhaps they were scouts
in search of a protective copse
capable of holding hundreds
or up to one thousand of their kind





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

Posted in Birds, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Apr 2022

sorrowful pilgrimage


it was the day after
our bones tattered & torn
knowing not if we were
dead of alive

overnight the crows
became nocturnal
as if the poles had reversed
after a century
of fluctuating

they had become
our field guide
and though we asked
they wouldn’t say if we were
dead or alive

time passed as if
in reverse
each lifeless town we reached
showed no sign of
blood or skin or bone

wildflowers grew by the roadside
we picked them
we put them to our noses
but to no avail

the crows said it was okay to eat them

and so we did

as we traveled further
back in time
the crows became
eerily quiet
in the dead of night

and we knew not if we were
dead or alive





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

Posted in Birds, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
24 Nov 2020
2 Comments

Corvid at a crossroads


I thought I had started something
turns out I’m just consciously resuming
released after an abbreviated pause

Don’t think I didn’t notice you banded me
(on my left foot) like a common criminal
paroling me back into society
hopeful my eventual return yields
a multitude of data sets

This much I say & this much you know
I am not some lame carrier pigeon
at the mercy of manipulation
the multitude of neurons in my brain
tells me I’ll never see you again

Meanwhile the family bickers and balks
complacent or jealous or abhorrent
the far majority close to casting lots




november two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , ,
20 Sep 2020

the old grey whistle test


even the crows seem to be tired
this unusually long summer
their calls traveling less & less

the hours counting down
the shift will be subtle but felt
like that brief pause
at the top of the carnival ride

their feathers become grey
voices more boisterous than before
the sun making its grand return
sparking wave after wave after wave




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
11 Mar 2019
5 Comments

on the fringes picking up pieces


you see me in your dream
taking notes on the sidelines
while the rest of the gang
sit on high like a panel of judges
or a murder of crows
calling on the next witness

I keep my wings tucked
inside my black jacket
pacing back and forth
along the roadside
keeping my mouth shut
and pretending I’m all alone

you’re the only one
recognizing me for who I am
perfectly capable of joining
your little inner circle
but modestly more at ease
scavenging on my own terms





march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
05 Jun 2018
6 Comments

crows of aleppo


crow followed me home
like a shadow over my sorrow
squawking like a dog does
not knowing where to turn

by the time I got there
it had burned to the ground
that crow following me home
suddenly a dozen or more

as they circled up above
a calm enveloped my being
those crows following me home
neither ally nor enemy




june two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , ,
05 Jun 2017
2 Comments

like a crow on a sign post


there is an intangible stirring somewhere
perhaps in the clouds or in the water
in the ground or in the fire
it doesn’t matter ‘where’ really
it could be in the economy or in the wars
lying dormant in a billion dreams
it could be current events or
your everyday laissez-faire
but it is most definitely there
designed to reassure
true change is inevitable





june two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
30 Dec 2016
8 Comments

hey diddle’s redux


now the crow
how he boasts
but not like a cow
with no place to go

nobody flew
over the moon
not even the crow
comfortably roosting
atop spotted dog

inside farmhouse
grandma plays fiddle
while diddle diddle
licks the dish clean
spoon her microphone
the cat’s caw her song



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,
28 Feb 2014
2 Comments

yesterday’s sunshine


you store it in virtual bottles
stashed away in far away places
sealed tight and out of sight

you inspire to relive the bottling
hidden from everyday reality
filled with genuine creativity
and dying to be retold

reopening yesterday’s sunshine
is as dangerous as blackbirds
sulking in the shadows
calling forth the ghost of cruelty
to usher in new beauty




february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in 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 , , , , , , , , ,
28 Apr 2012
8 Comments

counting crows


a murder of crows
bide their time
on the outskirts of town
waiting patiently
as the virus
gripped the residents
with fever and fear

death by death
the murder grew larger
their calls becoming
creepingly human
their strategy
instinctively fine-tuned
and well orchestrated

the devastation
never aired anywhere
no mention of crows
nor intelligence
of any pandemic
ever germinating
in an alien field


april two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Animals, Birds, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,

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