this is all I know
concealed in a poem
like an eternal idea
or a waxing moon
forever drifting further
from mother earth
the eternal idea
residing in a poem
the seas calm
on a moonless night
thoughts drifting
past the firelight
seas remain calm
catamarans adrift
the idea of a poem
turned into dust
chasing a comet’s tail
on a moonless night
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I ain’t got much left
my body battery drained
& according to my wearable
I’ve only so many days
yet to live
it’s not exactly
information overload
I’m just searching the stars
trying to decode
my next resting place
may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
check your resting heart rate
that watch should tell you
nobody knows how accurate it really is
I mean isn’t that true about everything
it takes ten thousand steps
to get from me to you
and I’d do it thousands of times
if I truly had to
how long had we been lost in the woods
and how much longer did it take
before finding our way out
I still remember that time when I said
none of this will ever end
september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
she moved from room to room
her feet never touching the floor
wanting to believe she was real
I pretended we were dancing
lights were low & hopes high
for the very first time I felt like
I was closer than ever to the center
your world gravitating toward mine
june two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
she sang and danced in my sleep
arousing my senses and touching my heart
making me believe she was all I needed
from this day unto eternity
once awakening I felt exhausted
having lost patience and time and body weight
attempting to relive what had transpired
before it was forever gone
there is this overwhelming desire
residing in the recesses of a curious mind
creating and recreating an epicurean reality
momentary and indescribable
june two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
waxing gibbous on chilly night
reddish-orange and
taking center stage
her breath barely visible
to the naked eye
december sun is never overrated
though at times plays second fiddle to
low-lying celestial occurrences
you swear you should be able to touch
flashing satellites mimic wishes
made every single night
like lost thoughts in the northern sky
they fade and brighten
alternatively
september two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the world opens up and
closes in a heartbeat
you knew what it was like
to be on top of the world
reaching up and touching the sky
challenging your ego
and your super ego
to go even higher
there are many ways
to reach improbable heights
whether legal or otherwise
naturally or artificially
or simply metaphysically
there are many ways
to reverse the trend and dive
deeper than any man
has ever dared gone
neither heights nor depths exist
where you are destined to reside
once the world opens up
and closes in a heartbeat
december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
oh glorious night settle into darkness
and let me tell thee whom I give my life
I belong neither to sky above nor sea below
and from all accounts was burst forth from
scorpius some thirty-three light years ago
though my days on earth have been counted
on one thousand and one hands
it is a far cry to say this was ever my home
for the glory of goodness lives not here
but rather in a place and time that knows no end
november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there was a number
maybe there were two or three
that when put together
added up to something
like an old fashioned love song
half notes and quarter notes
bounce off amphitheater rooftops
drifting into the cloudless sky
slowly dissolving like helium
balloons and unbridled kites
spiders and bears and
little tea kettles crawl through
open backlit space
giving chase to new ideas
dying to be composed
they say the song lives on
riding falling stars
content with returning to earth
surfing atop ocean waves
seeking a brand new dance floor
october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it was supposed to become easier
(as I get older)
and in some ways it has
thanks in no part
to google girls and their entourage
disguised as tiny dancers
searching for a better discotheque
out of focus for a reason
but dead set on seeing things
(as they are until the very last sunrise)
I look past the mirror ball
twinkling inside your irises
exposing newly found worlds
in my next world everyone grows
younger with each passing heartbeat
dancing (as they say)
like it’s nineteen seventy-six
how many times have you told me
not to cry when meaningful ballads
happen our way
how many times have I wanted
to be just like you
dressed in star-studded jumpsuits
and sporting sexy determination
october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
don’t be afraid
there is nothing wrong
now that the light is gone
now that the pain
once permanent like the
morning sun
has transitioned into
a vague sensation
I didn’t mean to scare you
but you had fallen
into an endless dream
inching in the void
searching for candles
whispering to yourself
what wickedness
takes away such power
alas it was not meant to be
the irises in your eyes
plucked away
by the angels of the sky
taking you further
and further away
promising their beauty
will last forever
may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
my clairvoyant dreams paved the way
for so many to get out of this place
there was no time to pack a case
no time for goodbye hugs or kisses
pretending to be pretty is a futile endeavor
when there is beauty in eternity
the difference between life and breath
is as a minuscule as the smallest molecule
intrinsically gradual like the transition of seasons
cycling within this world and the next
january two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
she told me to never go away
that tomorrow will always be here
and I pretended to understand
exactly what she meant
she swore she never saw me
reading in the morning light
my story but a whisper
she tried to comprehend
she could never set me free
not while my words silently
surrounded the air and
seemingly flowed inside her
following her for days on end
and time of no consequence
I became obsessed with turning
a single day into all of eternity
november two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
repetition of living has taken its toll
on my susceptible shell
altering its physicalities
while heightening my emotions
determined to keep my thoughts
in proper order
I focus on an energy
that is bound to send me skyward
nothing can take away the color
of those changing leaves
or the rippling of streaming water
polishing age-old rocks
nothing can erase the rising
of an off-white moon
or the setting of a kaleidoscope sun
nothing will remove the sounds of laughter
on a summer afternoon
or the sadness trapped inside
melancholy sighs
stepping forward and upward
effortlessly
I shed the weight of the world
and all that it entails
sailing away while looking back
at an endless recollection
october two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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
I am not afraid of the tick tick ticking
in the dark of the night
not afraid to challenge the allusion
that everything is linear
all of the crooked roads
lead to broken clocks
stacked high within a framework
not even a jeweler would dare touch
the wise old owl understands
why man is obsessed with counting
but refuses to reveal the truth
and so the journey goes round and round
I shall never retire my fight against
the concept of a single dimension
will never accept the gift of a watch
whose mechanisms will one day fail
may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 