jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “escape”

12 Apr 2025
4 Comments

the last place imaginable


it’s twenty twenty-five
listening to vinyls
in the second bedroom
turned into opium den
—long plays by the beatles
stones & cream

windows wide open
peaceful vibes attract
various passersby
—curiosity seekers clad in
nostalgic blue jeans
or new wave outerwear

music like a passage
through time
sometimes cast from
the last place imaginable
—perhaps from your
very last lifeline


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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
30 Apr 2024
2 Comments

Seeing Red


The capital city is sinking
but there’s no place left to run

The entire world is on lockdown
though tickets to Mars
are selling for a dime a dozen

If digressing to an archipelago
is on your mind
I may have to ask you
exactly in which dimension


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

Posted in In the City, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
01 Mar 2024

into the void


as if fighting mother nature
isn’t bad enough
we take it upon ourselves
to displace peoples
we barely know
by means of destruction

 *

many months after my birth
the moon often
visited my dreams
suggesting
my true father
may well be the god of war

 *

the recipe for peace
and restoration
is written on the leaves
of the eucalyptus
and the black locust
only the blind can read

 *

as a child I practiced
with bow & arrow
the former becoming
an extension
of my expanding psyche

 *

it’s a universal truth
the masses
do not stand a chance
against the select
yet another reason
to escape into the void





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
06 Feb 2024

music listening to music


I listen to music
to step away from thought
from the overwhelming
bullets whizzing past
fast cars endangering
the local cat population

listening to music
doesn’t cure cancer
or reset broken bones
but can temporarily fix
broken hearts or coax
someone from the ledge

music listens to music
for obvious reasons
because sometimes it too
becomes depressed
at times suffocates from a
silence that won’t go away





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
14 Mar 2023

Plan B


There is a lull
giving me time to think
what to do with
the furniture
the cars
& the children

If we were to flee
that would either
question our innocence
or solidify our guilt
—it’s what they call
a win win situation

It seems the bail
made just the other day
isn’t worth an order
of McDonald’s fries

Inside the rule of law
tick
tick
ticks away
whereas on the outside
it’s a jungle
poachers with spotlights
picking & choosing
leisurely to their liking

In case of emergency
wield the hammer
against the glass
pick up the answer
in the form of a map
unfolding itself
time after time [after time]





march two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
19 Apr 2022
2 Comments

trapdoor


listen up there’s
a new world order
brewing

in the kitchen
fm radio blaring
emergency
broadcast signal

everywhere you go
something’s
missing
a sock
a mitten
a cherished memory
taken away
by dream thieves

listen up
hut two three four
we’ve made it official
& we’re doing it in style
stumbling headlong
through the newly
constructed
trapdoor





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , ,
16 Feb 2013
2 Comments

this is not a test


there i was sitting in english class
talking about the duality
of holden caulfield
when all of a sudden the television
hanging in the corner of the classroom
awakened like a jolt of lightning
and the doors suddenly closed
and automatically locked

twenty of us just sat there in silence
removing the oxygen
from the dead air
and i recall thinking how everything
i’ve accomplished up to this point
was going to hang on tightly
as i slipped through the little window
stepping into a brand new life



february two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
07 Jul 2012
5 Comments

escape from within


caught on thin ice

i suddenly became lost

like a runaway kite

my cheeks busting

eyes leery yet fearless

of the insane cracks

daring my bladed soles

to never stop flying




july two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,

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