blame it on faulty wiring
the red one in the black socket
& vice versa
the white wire left ungrounded
all causing a slow smoldering of sorts
like a hot cigarette ash
accidentally dropped inside a couch
gradually deteriorating the inner workings
eventually causing me to be completely
out of my mind
september two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
dusk arrives unannounced
followed by cat calls & bird songs
filtering in thru the cracked window
had I not destroyed myself
just before the dawn
did not the moon inform me
you’re finished once & for all
my vision blurred & my voice raspy
the blood in my veins
still flowing freely
I find myself back to life
back to my somewhat former self
at the window I peer past the shade
— there appears the moon
nothing like I remembered
deaf & dumb & barely visible
painted the dullest gray
talk now I say
tell me about this immortality
you had promised
made possible you said
by the hangman’s noose
the very one inside this room
at the foot of the bed
march two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they took me from the workplace
with complete brutality
my body slowly deteriorating
from the inside out
my mind awash in alcohol
my comfort zone disappeared
and I was left with nothing but
unanswered questions
reeling from a sickness
that struck without warning
I was told never to worry
that a new reality would unfold
how I would fall fast asleep
for nearly a lifetime
only to awaken as a god
december two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
He started telling me things
little things
I had no business knowing
After a while the little things
mixed with the big things
and soon the important things
seemed to not matter so much
Every day for over two thousand
I did nothing but live alone with
my own thoughts
Of course I continued to enjoy
chocolate kisses and
group therapy and
kite flying
When he rescued me from
voluntary confinement
I screamed incoherently while
riding on the back of his fifty horses
hair blowing back horizontally
arms raised and flailing
Now after so many years since
time has turned around
and I find myself
drifting and regressing
but succeeding at exorcising
my very own demons
september two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
golden skeleton key
wrapped around your neck
designed to unleash spontaneity
while keeping the monsters at bay
magically vanishes in the feckless wind
inside the madhouse demons slash
and poke with razors and needles
fingerpainting false memories on
invisible doors and lasering
new keyholes with a blazing white light
march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
fleet of foot
and quite aloof
the time eraser
runs in the background
as quiet as a ghost
as mistakes
accumulate
the time eraser
springs into action
restoring sanity
troubles fade
thoughts unravel
the time eraser
intravenously
injecting new cocktails
august two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
born into a disconnected world
thousands of years back or forwards
angry young men
count using hands and feet
and algorithms buried
beneath the rubble
without warning there is no danger
there are only unexplained explosions
breathing new life
into a universe dying to attract
everything that is beautiful
inside a perfect circle
august two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
so much dark emotion lives
deep within us
locked away from centuries past
idling by and unafraid
able to unleash itself
most unexpectedly
almost anything can spark
its wickedness
awakening from dormancy
and revealing bloody secrets
only unknown ancestors
ever knew subsisted
like a lion suddenly enraged
instinctively
you rush from out of the bushes
rip apart the innocent lamb
quietly devouring
any remnant of yourself
june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
he was so polite
he said yes ma’am
and no thank you
even asking permission
to use the bathroom
while he was away
everyone agreed
something terribly
went haywire upstairs
while everyone else
stood by fast asleep
march two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I hadn’t been afraid for so long
that when the inevitable came
knocking at my door
I checked my pulse
and let the shadow in
an eerie thought cooled my palms
and sharpened my eyes
leading me to believe
I was on the verge
of losing my sanity
I issued a self-restraint citation
against my worse judgement
barricading myself
in the confessional
waiting for a priest
december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
this claustrophobic feeling
assails me like a shrinking
windowless room needing
a new paint job as the four
padded sides diminish my
ability to control my sanity
or concentrate coherently
september two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I sign in with a password
as old as the hills
one any junkie hack
should crack
without much effort
keep thinking I’ve seen it all
until some new shit
keeps popping up
every few seconds
proving I’m wrong
trying to keep cool
today I told someone
to multi-task
when I know damn well
that is so yesterday
my virtual file cabinet burned
with the last solar flare
to hit the network
disabling my efforts
to save the company
without any time to lose
I found myself
vacationing on the moon
with my new best friends
who have no names
august two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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