jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “drugs”

04 May 2022
2 Comments

inside the apothecary shop


as history continues to repeat itself
I idly peruse the apothecary shop
filling my empty bread basket
casually
as if the atrocities of the latest century
can be replaced by non-
prescription drugs
newly arrived from omaha
or columbia or singapore
or maybe from the neighbor next door
the latter growing their own shrooms
& dabbling in synthetics
telling you how they’ve recently added
gambling to their repertoire





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , ,
15 Feb 2022

once upon a chemical romance


in the beginning
it seemed we swept
each other off our feet
but that was never the case
and only you knew it

you taught me how to
make the finest white lines
to laugh & cry
while making love
most likely followed
by hibiscus tea
& hash-laced brownies

for days on end I’d be left alone
some perishables in the panty
& tepid water on tap
all windows & doors
locked from the outside

as long as you were gone
the medicine cabinet
remained empty
& slowly I would find myself
crawling out of this shell
you selfishly built for me





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
29 Nov 2020

alien drug trade


we got in the car
and made a beeline downtown

it was almost december
and it was goddamn cold
the northwest wind
having gone crazy all afternoon

I had the capital
and you had the road map
a big fat beaver moon
illuminating our every move

everyone knew the aliens
had the best microdust
the trick you said
was all in the translation

I’d been underground before
but not in the inner city
and as we continued
to descend further
an inner emotional voice
kept telling me to fear not




november two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
14 Sep 2019
2 Comments

standing in line with mister jimmy


I’ve been self-prescribing for so long
beginning to believe I’m an expert
in any field

apothecary shop across the street
has been thriving for nearly
a century now
modestly contributing to the local economy
providing products we’ve
come to know and love
since the beginning of time

I want our love to last forever
so I keep asking myself
what shall we take next time
our lives seem to be separating




september two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , ,
03 Sep 2019

withdrawing to past places


drug deals come and go
and whether they’re legal or not
hasn’t ever seemed to matter to the
general population or big pharma

we used to think we could handle
just about anything
[be it cooked artificially
or arriving naturally]
only later did we realize
what hurts the most
can’t possibly be remedied
without assistance from the
power of the mind

and so that gets us back
why we started in the first place
experimenting without reason
attempting to get back to a place
existing before the written word
before the world had no boundaries




september two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
12 May 2014
4 Comments

designer drugs


we pump ourselves up with artificial
intelligence designed to make us fly by
unnoticed and unashamed
turning our dreams into newsflashes
made to fizzle in the dark
leaving everyone wondering
exactly what went wrong



may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
30 Nov 2013

before the wall is smashed


we listened to pink floyd
all afternoon
before settling on watching the wall

neither sunlight nor lightning
could penetrate the electronic den
stocked with essentials and
adorned with colorful matter
that shined on the four corner speakers
slightly exposing fellow clan members
relaxing on the supersectional
and loveseat
and futon
and pink bean bag chair

sometime before the wall is smashed
a pizza delivery boy arrives unannounced

swarmed by our open arms
we tear into his flesh
only to stitch him
back together
like some old rag doll


november two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
02 Aug 2013
8 Comments

the time eraser


fleet of foot
and quite aloof
the time eraser
runs in the background
as quiet as a ghost

as mistakes
accumulate
the time eraser
springs into action
restoring sanity

troubles fade
thoughts unravel
the time eraser
intravenously
injecting new cocktails


august two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
15 Apr 2013
8 Comments

the speaker


they brought him into school
to address the warrior nation
and I sat in the little theater
so happy to miss math

this cat spent most of his adult
life in and out of prison
and he spoke softly and slowly
as if he once walked dead

his tales of thievery involving
blunt knives and drugs
and smoking guns
proved to be entertaining
until he bent down
on one knee
and proceeded to reenact
that night
he held his girlfriend’s lifeless body
in his tattered arms

I hid my eyes beneath my hand
and looked around the room
trying to figure out which one of us
would be tomorrow’s speaker



april two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
05 Oct 2012

search warrant


she sat on the curb at twilight
stale tears etched on her cheeks
elbows on knees
fingers curled in
her knuckles keeping her face
from sinking even further

across the street police lights strobe
in a constant circle and remittent flash
the k9 sedan idling
its radio haltingly chatty
broadcasting to nobody
but the girl
and her neighbors
operating as passersby

twenty-four concrete steps
and a steel railing
scale the hill leading up to her house
where inside her daddy
is handcuffed and pinned to the wall
soon to be escorted
down the twenty-four steps
and past the curb
momentarily out
of her wretched life


click here for youtube video

october two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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

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