jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “future”

05 Mar 2024

equilibrium


you can only guess
speculate what comes next

oh yes it’s a guessing game
but there are technical & scientific
components as well
not to mention
common
sense

the past is not any indication
of what comes next
because what comes next
is hideous & beautiful
it’s the worst thing imaginable
it’s the most fantastic invention
it’s like a miracle or a gift
or the unspeakable form of death

yes it’s true the trees are burning
the cattle have no water
and on a daily basis
masses turn into ashes
turn to dust
joining the chorus of the unknown
suddenly privy
to what comes next





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
20 Sep 2023

two steps forward


diminishing but not beyond recognition
this stale state of mind
requires a new kind of wake-up call
one in which the soul within
is stirred but not shaken
a reminder there is more work
yet to be done

in the morning the radio & the sun
& the birds of a nation
reminds us there is good reason
to pause & reflect
to take one step backward
before taking two
into this uncertain future





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

Posted in Birds, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Jun 2023
3 Comments

black summer


we left nearly everything
there was no other way
to capture the flag
the only thing that seemed to matter
in the summer of sixty-nine

I remember I had
only wanted to play ball
but that was never in the cards
instead left strategizing
in someone’s low-lit basement

we could only assume
our house had been bombarded
likely laid to waste
while surviving relatives
roamed about like zombies

we had received word
of the headless horse
galloping into the orangish moon
a clear signal it was time to fly
the archers unloading their arsenal





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

Posted in History, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,
22 Jan 2023

twenty-one hundred


the water is pretty toxic here
but the children
seem to have adapted

the ones with years of knowledge
are not faring so well
their numbers dwindling
by the day

the crops should be better
next year
thanks to all the dying

without question
the mountains are shrinking
the price of gold
going higher & higher





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
26 Jun 2021

reversing the future course of events


I’m done counting my blessings
you see there’s nothing left
I’ve bundled them into packages
& shipped them off to those
who need them more than me

I just gave my last interview
did my best not to say
I don’t give a shit anymore
was quick to bite my tongue
instead talked about the children

needing more than ever before
how without the blessings
they’re destined to become
something we’ve never seen
in all of human history




june two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Apr 2021

step inside & see


laying down fiber
high speed generation
a thousand megabits per second
like hummingbird wings
a race between
the underground & the cloud
a pay-per-trip time machine
idling in the wings
won’t you step inside & see
how it all ends




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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Mar 2021

living in interesting times


there is a divide
between how we got here
and whether a history
stained from the beginning
matters or not

how do you fix something
that’s always been broken
even though at the time
people believed
in what they were doing

living in interesting times
has become so passé
I want to start living
somewhere in the future




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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
13 Apr 2019
3 Comments

push and pull


living in the present
yes I get that who doesn’t
taking in the sights and sounds
as if you’re seeing the world
around you each and every day
for the very first time

but alas what challenges
the present creates
especially when piecing
together past and future events
defining and redefining
perceptions and realities
not to mention those ever elusive
dream interpretations

so here you are sitting
at an outdoor cafe
alone or perhaps with a
real or imagined friend
living in the moment as they say
never pulling back or pushing forward
somehow knowing every single word
to every single song streaming
out into the open air





april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
30 Mar 2019
2 Comments

prototypical


in the backyard
all secure by a privacy fence
two boys continue their work
on new and improved old ideas

they’ve done the math
and they’ve completed
the construction
all that’s left is to send
that damn rocket
out into outer space

striking a light
they set the fuse to burn
running away at full speed
their future blazing overhead





march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
16 Jun 2017
6 Comments

rewriting the nuclear era


summer has never been so close
knocking hard
loud and clear like a thunderclap

if you didn’t hear that
you may as well be deaf
I murmured
but there was nobody around
to absorb my spoken words
except for nightbirds and spiders
and hackers inside my laptop

there are many weeds needing
pulling and much soil needing turning
I keep telling myself
but in the middle of the night
none of that is occurring
at least not in real time

come monday morning nobody
may remember exactly what transpired
whether it be a history rewritten
or saplings thriving free of gasoline





june two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
06 Dec 2014
8 Comments

of ferris wheels and roller coasters


it started with wheels made of rocks
rolling down grassy hills
chased by boys in sparse clothing
whooping and hollering for the damn
thing to stop

such imagination led to saddles for
elephants and chariots for horses
led to rickshaws powered by men
led to river boats exploring the
river euphrates

I remember walking beside caesar
back home via the appian way

I remember shadowing jesus
riding his pony into jerusalem

there are plenty of magic carpet
rides to steal upon
taking you back to that exact
place where you remember
witnessing everything for the
very first time



december two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
21 May 2014
8 Comments

running on empty


reborn into this world
no longer can I say
I don’t belong
can no longer keep quiet
my doubts about
making it out alive
once the fossil fuels are gone

putting down half-filled shots
of eighty proof rye
rocket scientists collude with
future historians
rewriting how everything
precisely went down
once the reserves ran dry


may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
23 Jun 2013
12 Comments

alive like the butterfly


the moment you start looking back
and analyzing every misstep
chances are you are not where
you want to be
and all the hopeless wishing in the world
will leave you even more wretched

consider the beauty of the butterfly
and ask yourself if your life isn’t worth
just as much
and maybe then you will understand
moving forward is the only option
with or without a migration map


june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,

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