heaven is a place
where you can finally
be yourself
instead of someone
you yourself barely knew
it could be anywhere
you’d like it to be
and quite honesty
dying first
is not a prerequisite
august two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
below ground
coincidence can be found
bone & rock & history
loosely wrapped
inside places even your
imagination can’t fathom
unless you’re dead asleep
in the air is where it’s at
high as a kite so to speak
transported by coal-consuming
flying dragons
firing on all cylinders
taking you to places
only years ago unthinkable
if you can’t escape
the exosphere
you’ve no choice but to die
a stone cold death
or fall back to the surface
reborn to climb yet again
or dig into oblivion
august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I didn’t tell you I was scared of heights
because I assumed you knew me
better than I knew myself
How wrong things turned out to be
soon after your star seemed to take off
now falling fast and further
than anyone could have ever fathomed
Clouds at ten thousand feet are much whiter
than they appear from the ground
and I believe you when you tell me
heaven is not any closer
october two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I used to be tired
all the time
but now I’m somebody else
entirely
having devised a way
to parlay body and soul
into game-changing
situations
remixing what missed
opportunities
I may have squandered
over the years
now a simmering pot
of good fortune
made available to anyone
feeling free
to help themselves
october two thousand eighteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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