jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “garden”

25 May 2025
31 Comments

Into the Earth


This poem was my first blog post on December 7, 2011.
It is now the last one on this site.
A very special thanks to everyone who visited my poetry over the years.


In my mind I draw a square
in the very center of the garden

From there I dig into the earth
using the seasoned spade
usually reserved for plantings

The hole slowly turns into a cube
as three mounds resemble
Egyptian resting places

Further down the soil
becomes hard and cold
the clay malleable enough
to mold eternal companions

Satisfied the opening
is mathematically sound
I hold the spade at my side
sweat falling off my forehead
silently instructing the child
to bring forth her loved one
to the newly built altar




november two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
11 Jul 2024
2 Comments

flowering garden


he’s become too old
to put in three tomato plants
or maintain the rose bushes
unable to get on his hands
& knees and shove the annuals
into the ground in mid-may

the garden the size of a small
badminton court
though the colors
perennially extraordinaire

the tomatoes
the only fruit to be picked
the flower blooms coming
& going from summer till fall
seemingly on their own

there is no succession plan
when it comes to the garden
yet the old man still orchestrates
what should go where
those of us who know him best
traveling from hundreds of miles away
making sure it continues
to suit his eye


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
03 Jun 2024

bumper crop


he asks me the same question
only ten minutes later
then five & one

I don’t remember you ever
holding my hand
I say to my father
but he cannot hear me
not even with his one hearing aid

here let me turn you up
he says to me
what did you say

your garden looks great
I go on to the say
it should be another bumper
tomato crop

it was all I could do to get them in
he goes on to say
having not remembered
I’d been the one who planted them
just a few months ago


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
23 Apr 2024
2 Comments

its own evolution


there is information
in the grapevine
palpitations in the bleeding hearts
tiny mirrors in the garden
playing tricks with the sun
attracting wings of all sizes
protecting the evolution
of a fragile ground game


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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
14 Aug 2023

the garden


it should have been different
than the way it transpired
the way the garden progressed
into a disarray of entanglement
above & below ground
the tame intermingling w/the wild
performing some kind of erotic ritual
—onlookers in awe & disbelief
mouths open & eyes fixated
unable to shake off the images
emblazoned into their psyche





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
09 Nov 2021

so that I may speak


messing with circadian rhythms
just for the fun of it
or out of sheer boredom
a half attempt to be noticed
a shout out to the world
how nothing seems to matter

it’s as if I’m preaching third shift
& sleepwalking by day
strangers coming up to me
on crowded sidewalks
calling for autographs & saying
don’t I know you from another life

we gather at the city center
a walled garden eight blocks square
oaks & cedars providing shade
benches & flowers & fountains
adorning the pathways
growing crowd beginning to quiet





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
11 Apr 2021

one thing leads to another


let me see
let me gather my thoughts
like I gather flowers in the garden
one precise cut at a time

there is something on my mind
it lingers like a ghost
on the shady side of the garden
I sit & wait for it to edge closer

some days are easier
than others
that is widely known
and those that are not
drop hints & clues along the way
a subtle progression
that keeps me wanting more




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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
12 Sep 2019

the garden reprised


we’ve done this before
making something out of thin air
whether simple words or complex webs
designed to bring us closer

the power of sleep brings forth
limitless possibilities
exposing past and future lives
such as the spider or the fly

at some point it stands to reason
why the trees have knowledge
and birds perpetuate folklore
why the snake in the green green grass
will one day be your best friend




september two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 Apr 2019
4 Comments

attracting butterflies


how the garden grows
in my absence

photos clicked and sent
my way via
short message service

I don’t own a device
anymore
but I can still receive

be they still or moving
or downright blossoming
it matters not

I like the bleeding hearts best
almost always first
or second to arrive
depending upon the winter

I promise I’ll be back soon
it’s only temporary
where I’ve been
or where I’m going

if memory serves me right
the tulips will be next





april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
09 Jul 2018
2 Comments

just as you are sure to do


ice gradually melts
and ground begins to thaw
there you rest
not far from the surface
exactly where I left you
shuddering in your sleep

what you can’t see
should certainly scare you
but don’t for a moment
keep the covers over your eyes
lest you miss those self-evident
truths reflecting in the light

oh how you thought
you had massacred every aphid
that had decimated your garden
but they are alive and well
reinventing themselves
just as you are sure to do




july two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
15 Oct 2017
6 Comments

alive and well at twenty-one


she came to visit for a few hours
on a sunday afternoon

it was a blustery but sunny day
wind chimes sounding off loud and clear
inside toasty sunroom

she got up from the sofa
holding teacup below her chin
gazing out south facing windows

“it’s a shame your garden’s dying
it was so beautiful last time I was here”

(to her everything is dying so I just let it go)

I didn’t have the heart to tell her
the garden turned twenty-one this year
and is very much alive and well





october two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
01 Jun 2017
6 Comments

it’s never too late


I’ve found myself so many times
it’s hard imagining finding myself again

in the garden everyone feasts
the bird
the butterfly
the rodent and the worm
insects and felines and canines
stamens and pistils
day lilies and night owls
tree limbs and branches hanging fruit
angels and devils and humans
shoving shovels into the ground
stirring and spawning new life

meanwhile the sun and moon
(and the season known as spring)
continue to operate like a heartbeat





june two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
07 Apr 2016
8 Comments

garden of confusion


wind chimes chatter in the mist
varied in pitch and velocity
powered by dark winds
swirling past steel spiders

rusty fish swim by twilight
nipping at one-legged flamingo
all tucked in for the night

silent rocks in aerated streams
attract ceramic turtles and
green neon frogs
settling on that perfect spot

avian whispers segue into
full-fledged sirens
scaring the wildflowers away


april two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
23 Dec 2015
7 Comments

time capsule crash landing


late autumn afternoon
digging into garden bed
and separating little bulbs
from big ones
I uncover a shiny emerald stone

I rub off the dirt with soiled fingers
and polish it with my shirt
kneeling and looking up
I hold it skyward past
silent clouds drifting
my eyes squinting
my mind racing

from out of this world
it came crashing
burrowing into the earth
untouched for perhaps centuries
but now my cherished treasure
if only for the shortest
moment in time


december two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
22 Jun 2013
18 Comments

stepping stones


your garden is all grown up
said the daughter
to the old man as they
sat in front of the fire pit
listening to the wood talk

she remembered way back when
there were stepping stones
throughout the garden
and she would jump from one stone
to the next like you would
playing hopscotch

the stones were still there
camouflaged beneath the jungle
barely noticeable amongst the greenery
blossoming a spectrum of colors
rainbows inspired to imitate

do you remember
when we put in the stepping stones
asked the old man

yes I do
answered the daughter
I was just thinking about that



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,
09 Jan 2013
6 Comments

Springtime in Russia


The six-month winter miraculously
segues into a psychedelic fever
of blossoming apple trees
and awakening white birches
as white-fronted geese
flock along an endless sky
painted robin’s-egg blue.

Outside the city garden plots
become reacquainted
with agrarian hands skilled
from generation’s past
furiously planting and artfully
nurturing all that is necessary
to survive the next winter.




january two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,

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