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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “demons”

09 Sep 2018

in your own words


it’s getting late and the demons
have agreed to return
after being away for so long

it’s late in the day
early evening if you may
summer season fading fast
sun falling and nearly powerless
winds picking up and slightly chilly
sending mind and body shivering

shaking yourself loose of cobwebs
you walk away from the grey
turning on lights
brewing black tea
grabbing a flannel from the closet

you can hear them in the other room
murmuring and scheming and giggling
fidgeting in their chairs
waiting for you to return
serving tray in tow

as you enter they quickly change
their demeanor
slipping into their game faces
knowing full why you called them
but excited nonetheless
to hear it in your own words




september two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
24 May 2016
2 Comments

misdiagnosis


the good doctor told me the pain
manifested from my mind
from repressed emotions
determined to breach the surface

of course I knew that was unlikely
since I had already committed
to hundreds of the tiniest of needles
designed to free my malevolent spirits


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
06 Sep 2014
15 Comments

Boomerang


He started telling me things
little things
I had no business knowing

After a while the little things
mixed with the big things
and soon the important things
seemed to not matter so much

Every day for over two thousand
I did nothing but live alone with
my own thoughts

Of course I continued to enjoy
chocolate kisses and
group therapy and
kite flying

When he rescued me from
voluntary confinement
I screamed incoherently while
riding on the back of his fifty horses
hair blowing back horizontally
arms raised and flailing

Now after so many years since
time has turned around
and I find myself
drifting and regressing
but succeeding at exorcising
my very own demons


september two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
27 Oct 2013
7 Comments

some things we don’t talk about


there are certain things I’ll take to the grave
I said as I raised my half-filled glass
trying to figure out
if it was half full before
transferring the past down my throat

to the grave the patrons chanted
swallowing what remained of their
bottomless dreams
contented by the friendship of
lonely people
unbothered by next month’s bills

morning arrives without a demon in sight
the truth temporarily impaired
allowing me to get on with it
as they say
and forget all over again
those things going to the grave


october two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
13 Apr 2013
23 Comments

paper tigers


once the children moved out
demons moved in disguised
as paper tigers roaming
from room to room

their emerald eyes shined
from the darkest corners
of the night reminding me
of a love I once had

I fed them sad stories
in exchange for my life
but their promises of light
I could not fathom

I asked them kindly to leave
my world but they curled
where the winter sun
shined through glass

in the spring I found strength
to unfold and reshape
keeping the demons at bay
as paper angels hanging




april two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
17 Dec 2012

the exorcist


I hadn’t been afraid for so long
that when the inevitable came
knocking at my door
I checked my pulse
and let the shadow in

an eerie thought cooled my palms
and sharpened my eyes
leading me to believe
I was on the verge
of losing my sanity

I issued a self-restraint citation
against my worse judgement
barricading myself
in the confessional
waiting for a priest



december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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