jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “dead”

30 Sep 2024

cemetery in the city


there was a lot of digging
through the night

cell phones as flashlights
grunts & snorts
& out-of-breath breathing

—somewhere the dead lay
in fact
they are everywhere

somewhere an extension ladder
was propped against
an oak tree
one where wild animals
awaken from their dreams
by the sounds of predators
a few random ghosts roaming about
studying the markers

fear doesn’t dwell anywhere near
—not of the dark
or full moons
or the mysteries within the trees

by the time dawn arrives
it’s as if nothing had ever happened
except for an occasional cry
or gusts of wind
rustling leaves

come mid-morning a procession
of headlights
roll in as planned
commandeered by the living
praising the dead


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

Posted in Animals, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
10 Jul 2022

putting down a few with the dead


there is nothing riding on this game
but I’m watching it anyway
on a hot summer’s day along with
bukowski & harry caray
and some woman
I don’t recognize

of course harry had already
seen this game
by virtue of special permission
while hank consumed two beers
for every one of ours
repeatedly asking the woman
for her name

after a while she became
irritated that he couldn’t remember
and so the pretty dead lady
walked out of our lives
just like that

no questions asked





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
03 Apr 2021

afternoon tea with bobbi & me


let’s see
what haven’t we talked
about recently
that might make you
reposition yourself
on the settee

I carry out a tray
two cups & a pot of
earl grey tea
warm banana bread
& two thin slices of
lemon on the side

we talk about how
your dead mother
comes in & out of your life
promising [one of these days]
to leave behind
a dozen monster cookies

she knows how much
I love them
she goes on to say
sipping on her tea
& repositioning herself
on the settee




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
12 Aug 2013
15 Comments

radio edit


I was in the garage fixing the radio
when charlie came in
cigarette and beer in hand
wearing wrangler blue jeans
and a sleeveless tee

what in the hell are you doing neighbor
he asked

I told him I was fixing the radio
(the one with the reddish-orange digital display
that usually hangs underneath the kitchen cabinet
the kind you have to use a pen or pencil
to advance the time of day)

he took a peek at me soldering the
red wire to the circuit board
was careful to blow his smoke
out toward the street

as I screwed the cover back on
he asked what in the hell I needed a
radio for this day and age
you know with the internet and pandora
or some such shit

to listen to the dead but of course
is how I answered
and I picked up my radio and excused myself


august two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,

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