jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “death”

21 Apr 2014
9 Comments

it won’t be long


we sat on the front porch
and watched the grass grow green
over a kahlua and cream
and slice of moon

between sips I told her I wasn’t
going back to compete with the rats
and cockroaches in the city

they can all go to hell I said

she nodded her head
body slightly swaying while both hands
held onto her cup protectively

I don’t trust those sons-a-bitches she said

the wind shifted and blew
the coolness of otter creek into the
open air and through our bones

opening my pocket watch
I told her it won’t be long before
they tire of the city
and resume their journey
back to god’s country


april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
20 Apr 2014
8 Comments

vanishing trick


I would understand the ending to
every single story inside you
if only you would open your skin

I would understand if you chopped
every branch and bough from the
apple tree and
carved into its core
your own sacred totem pole

if you chose to set sail off the rocky
shores of the atlantic
and never return to our native land
I would understand

if you were born in another place
and a different time
I would understand you as much
as I do today

should you vanish without a sound
nor provide a reason for
not wanting to see me again
I would only pretend to understand



april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,
08 Apr 2014
9 Comments

judgment day


I opened up the text app
and swiftly texted with two thumbs

I just killed someone

while waiting for a reply
I checked the scores on my sports app

you didn’t
said the incoming text

I did
I texted back

I paused and lifted my eyes

first I thought and then I texted
you haven’t lived until you killed

smiling
I opened up the music app
and decided to listen to lennon sing
happiness is a warm gun

when the song ended I looked
around and noticed
I was no longer alone

soon to be judged by so many
I waited in silence for the
incoming wave of endless pings


april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
15 Feb 2014
7 Comments

crossing over to life


I had no idea I crossed over to life
that day you set me free from
centuries of rest

you said I was a sleeping giant
but I only saw myself
as uncharged atoms
floating randomly through darkness

standing at the center of attention
you raised your hands
and opened them upward
towards the sun
delivering unto the gods
the light that was once my life


february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
26 Jan 2014
4 Comments

blessed are the lucky ones


when someone says they make
their own luck
I can only imagine how blatantly
foolish they must be
believing having control
of their own destiny
is actually possible by someone
other than the gods

for free spirits such as these
I hope they never
ever know
it’s just a matter of time
before they come to realize
luck has nothing to do
with their lot in life
nor their untimely demise




january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
07 Jan 2014
6 Comments

breathing lessons


lying flat on the floor
first I bend my mind
then my body

from there I wonder
where my soul takes me next

temperatures rise
then fall to record lows

the crow flies due north
searching for something new

moving pictures
stored on the ground
and in the cloud
suddenly freeze

lying flat on my back
I close my eyes and
pretend I’m breathing
for the very first time



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
19 Nov 2013
2 Comments

turn off the lights


off in the distance
fiery bodies pierce an
otherwise cold and dark night
sparking unnatural cries
inside the city

dormant firehouses
suddenly become mobile
spewing lights and noise
through once sleepy
narrow avenues

earthen black holes
welcome life and death
mixing fear with hope
and giving mystery
a brand new meaning


november two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
12 Nov 2013
6 Comments

Long Lost Friends


I didn’t make the bed.

I meant to take the dog for a walk.

I forgot to take the garbage out.

When I went to the store to buy some milk
and bread I ended up spending
all my money on lottery tickets.

I was late for work again and they promptly
fired me.

Years went by and I forgot everyone’s birthday.

I couldn’t afford to pay the rent so out the door I went.

I found a new world living below the surface.

I lost my dog.

As I walked the sunken streets at night
I came to realize not even death wanted me.


november two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
12 Oct 2013
6 Comments

her next creation


she spoke with forked tongue
but I understood
every word she said

she said I had been dead
for three days
before resurrecting
my consciousness

back wandering the earth
I was sent searching
for a flower yet to be born

strolling beside a copse
instinctively I stopped
and squatted and became
mesmerizingly lost
as the glass petals
slowly unfolded into
another world


october two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in 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 , , , , , , ,
22 Sep 2013
7 Comments

where white flags sail high


we tested the water
by shooting bullets at it
then crossed to the
other side without missing
a beat

bullets never scare me
it’s the people who own them
that do
the ones who spend their
weekends at the shooting range
or the gamers club
or any dungeon of a basement
where m is for murder and
nothing else matters
where killing sprees can last
for hours on end

now that we made it
to the other side
to a place without war games
real or imagined
there was no reason
to remain on high alert
and with gratitude
we surrendered our arms



september two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , ,
12 Sep 2013
15 Comments

If I die before I wake


never mind the world ends today
and you left so many
things undone

never mind the starving children
throughout the world
who could easily be fed
with a little capital
and alien ingenuity

never mind the excessive waste
you selfishly accumulated
and contributed
toward urban ski slopes
and 18 hole golf courses

as the world ends today
never mind racial bias
gender bias
religious bias
nationality bias
and any kind of intriguing international bias

never mind discrimination
and mistrust
especially of crooked governments
and wars unjust

never mind outspokenly peaceful men
becoming silenced as we speak
by programs perpetuated
by deceit and hatred
by programs advocating
five o’clock killings
for everyone to see

never mind all the work undone
before the world ends today
never mind how it must bother you
knowing the story
never changes


september two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
08 Sep 2013
8 Comments

sunday with nana


when I was a little girl she said
I sang in the children’s choir
and everybody loved us

we smiled and tried to imagine
how nana could ever have been
a little girl singing in church

like a magician she pulled psalms
out of her throat and lifted them
high into the glorious air

angels appeared playing flutes
and trumpets and approving the
perfection that was her voice



september two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
05 Aug 2013
13 Comments

highway survivor


there are no lawyers here
so there is no one
to call or point fingers at

I’m just sitting here on the
highway’s shoulder
figuring out my next move

I see everything at once
and without even trying
I’m getting quite used to it

the wreck across the way
is mine but it’s been
five or ten or fifty years ago

sure seems like yesterday

I keep thinking maybe one day
I might branch out
and try my hand at haunting


august two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
28 Jun 2013
4 Comments

unlucky in love


he sits in his lazy boy chair
and yells at the umpire on TV who
keeps getting all the calls wrong
exhaling cheap cigar smoke
while putting down old style beer
in 12 ounce gulps

in the other room his partner
in crime fixes potato salad
to go with his pastrami on rye
saddened at the thought
mister james gandolfini
has left her lonely world



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
11 Jun 2013
17 Comments

fishing with jesus


sometimes I just cry myself to sleep
when I think about all the things
I’m gonna miss about this place
I told jesus
as we sat on the rocks
casting our lines out into the sea
neither of us worrying
whether or not there was fish to catch



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Dreams, Fishing, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →