jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “dreams”

cheers to the minor league siren


it was a sunday afternoon
and me and my gal sat at the bar
tipping pabst blue ribbons
while across the street
the crowd gathered into the stadium
for a doubleheader matinée

the flat screens hanging on the walls
aired most of the afternoon games
the sound muted by the country music
streaming from the jukebox

look my gal said pointing at one of the games
templeton is pitching for saint louis
i used to let him screw me you know

he played across the street
when he was just a baby she said
and i took him under my wing
and taught him a thing or two

yeah right i said
you’re dreaming again
holding two fingers up across the bar

my ass holds secrets you cannot imagine
she said and then lifted her glass
just above her still seductive eyes
waiting for me to do the same



march two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

bedtime stories


pretend you slip into my slacks
one leg at a time
button my newly ironed shirt
from bottom button to top

you get frustrated with yourself
because you can’t seem
to get the bloody dimple square
on the regimental tie

the silent alarm suddenly
signals half past eight
you lie awake forever late
to next week’s meeting

the reverie shakes you alive
screaming in your sleep
i hate you i love you i hate
the way the story ends


march two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

the bracelet


the bracelet fits perfectly
as if handcrafted
just for me

i found the bracelet
buried two feet deep
in my neighbor’s wooded
lot as i transgressed
with metal detector in hand
hoping to find pieces
from a past
i could somehow
put back together

within the safety
of my own property
i bring the bracelet
back to life
and pray its magic
will never end


february two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

rendezvous


she spends her days praying
and by night holds your hand
when the stars are touchable

she brought you into her world
and had you entirely expose her
item by item and kiss by kiss

you didn’t know what to think
you just did as she said
and she never did let you rest

in the dark of the morning
you made it back home
safely in your bed
as if nothing ever happened

february two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

casey’s dream


in the dream moses
splits the field of dreams
and turns a bush
into a bonfire in the center
of centerfield

notables like mantle
and cobb and simon peter
chew redman and spit
into the fire
casting pearls before swine
and laughing like little girls



january two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

tomorrow


i sit in the garden of good
and evil
and wonder if i’ve witnessed
enough

the quiet and beauty
of the garden
stands in dark contrast
to the cruel corners
of a violent
planet

i sometimes wonder
how the sunrise
will hit the acropolis
a thousand years from now
wonder in what way
i’ll be able to archive it
and recall it
again and again

(i’ve witnessed the birth
and near drowning death
of a child
only to be brought back to life
by a breath
i never knew existed)

as i sit in the garden
i understand there is more
to accomplish
on the other side of the hill
understand there will always be more
on the other side
where the fish jump
and the mountains climb
where promises sometimes
fall short
and recklessness
is always welcome

just like sound is neither
past nor present
there is no more tomorrow
there is only the garden



december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

weather woman


i’m in love with the weather woman
but i’m afraid to let her know

i love how she tells me
when my sun will shine

and when the rain
will soak my thoughts
with impossible dreams

and when the wind
will blow my blues away

i’m in love with the weather woman
but i’m afraid if she knew
she would concoct a storm
and send me tumbling away
like some insignificant snowflake



december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

And So the Skyclimber Climbs


The candles burned to mask the smoke
lingering in the air. He was certain
he’d been in this room before,
though it reeked of unfamiliarity.

He continued on through interconnected taverns
winding upward toward the sky.
Each passing story flashed old photographs
into his mind, only to dissolve and then
reproject themselves as stars in the sky.

Unclear how high the stories went
on and on he scurried. Up above, he swore,
lay reality; down below was just a past
that begged a sniff of upward mobility.


originally written
march two thousand seven
rewrite and recording
december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Big Time in Reno


I made my way to Reno by accident
with a woman much older than her age.
She said she knew a married man there
who seemed to have a ton of money.

It didn’t take long before she left me
for a drifter with some blow, so I decided
Reno was as good a spot as any
where I could work on my old acoustic.

By day I had a gig dealing twenty-one
at Fitzgeralds; earned enough in tips
to keep my lungs full of Old Golds
and my lips wet with whiskey or rye.

I kept telling myself I’m gonna make it big
in Nashville one day, but until then
I just kept singing my railroad songs
for the cockroaches in the rafters.


november two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

shadow dancing


one hour past midnight
the clock tapped me on the shoulder
and i opened my eyes
laying there in the dark
staring at the wall coming to life
with silent apparitions dancing to the rhythm
of the outside breeze
which filtered into the room
slightly chilling my hands and feet

i was too scared to move
and wondered if the time had come
to travel with the company
wondered if the players
would pull me out of the bed
and carry me away out through the window
into the never-ending night
where i would become a shadow
dancing on someone else’s wall


november two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

to your rescue


I saw the fear in your eyes
coming straight at me
in a paralyzing dream
leaving me forever afraid
to call out your name
in the dark of the night
as I lay shivering
and dripping wet
wondering if my lovely angel
had come to your rescue


november two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

without a wish


the river ran dry
the year of the drought
collapsing the water table
atop its own legs

the wishing well closed
from lack of moisture
turning back all the day dreamers
hoping for change


september two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

spontaneous combustion


his eyes squinted
at the cherry red end
as he drew smoke
to his lungs
sitting in the dark
in the old cloth chair

crushing the butt
into the tray
a hot piece flies off
and lands in the cushion
his weighty eyes closing
from sheer exhaustion



august two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Chrysalis


I had lost strength
after traveling so far
past the Nile Basin
and into the unknown

A sip from an ancient flower
tasted like perfection
numbing my legs
and sending my mind
into the night sky
where I was greeted
with weightlessness and peace

Throughout the night
I envisioned weaving
up the tallest tree
whose succulent branches
encouraged me to reach the top

Amble in my sleep
I pitched a tent
and watched the world fly by

I awakened to a dazzling
white sky with rainbow clouds
and golden snowcaps
my newfound perspective
exactly like the dream

For centuries I flew across
idle fields with virgin springs
until finally tiring a second time





august two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

When I Grow Up


Born to a clan of precision
stone cutters we hunt
for the larger population
roaming mesas and plateaus
and mountainsides
armed with clovis tip spears
knives and knowledge
our larger than life trophies
transformed into meat and clothing
jewelry and armor and weapons
and terrifyingly heroic tales
of gigantic proportions
leaving the little ones
amazed and inspired to dream
big all winter long



august two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

field of dreams


aggression builds from the stress
of surviving day by day
protecting what space is mine
and jousting with antennae helmeted
ne’er-do-wells who want to steal my girl

numb to the idea my days are numbered
i chirp lullabies out in the open field
promising hundreds of offspring
a seat by the fire before the first frost


july two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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