jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “fire”

22 Jan 2014
8 Comments

earthbound and elemental


she keeps old zippo
and stick matches
stashed inside denim pockets
just in case something
ever needs starting

innocent dragons
breathe in knowledge
exhaling old world ideas
to winded children
dying for fresh air

oceans rock and roil
worshipped by clouds
parading as aliens
showering the coast
inexorably

deep within the soil
life awakens
stirred by foot driven shovels
uncovering rock
never before seen



january two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
02 Jun 2013
3 Comments

sixth trumpet

from the book of revelation


the sixth angel stood by
knowing well in advance
once the trumpet had sounded
three plagues would break out
throughout the lands

not a soul seemed to fear
the voice from the four horns
of the golden altar instructing
the release of the four angels
bound at the river euphrates

once cut loose they amassed
two hundred million mounted troops
the horses with heads like lions
spewing fire and smoke and sulfur
directly from their mouths

the riders wore breastplates
of fiery red and dark blue
and yellow like sulfur
their horses transmitting disease
wiping out a third of mankind

despite the carnage the world
refused to repent of murder
and thievery and idol worshiping
neither abandoning magical art
nor the work of their hands



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
20 Jan 2013
9 Comments

how deep is the sea


sitting cross-legged on the floor
my mind shut the door
and i was left alone
in the dark
with a candle and a match

i closed my eyes and focused
on a fire burning in the belly
of a giant fish that swallowed me whole
delivering me to unfathomable depths
where indescribable creatures
ruled an invisible world

as ocean waves crashed on top of me
the door violently swung open
and the room became drenched
with natural light
my hand still holding
the unlit match
the candle
nowhere to be found


january two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Fishing, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
31 Aug 2012

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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
02 May 2012
2 Comments

Chicago Fire


Fire fighting aircraft
turn their bellies upward
as they veer away
from the blaze below
their waterbombs
struggling to penetrate
the conflagration
set off days ago
by a strike
from the sky
blasting the Windy City
with wicked veracity
turning human ingenuity
into a flattening incinerator
filled with rubber
and concrete
steel and humanity
stirring dead souls
into vague memories
of eighteen seventy-one


october, two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,

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