jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “memory”

22 Feb 2024

how things will have changed


the way we see things now
is but a distant memory

the rivers
the lands
and the seas

[as you know
not all things appear
as they seem]

think of the dream
the one dream
unchanged over a lifetime
the rivers
and the lands
and the seas
exactly
where they’ve always been

by the time you awaken
all of it has been put back into place
and you imagine starting over
is a distinct possibility





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
10 Feb 2024
2 Comments

when we were young


it’s a paradox
how nothing is new
unless it’s a spring flower
unfolding when nobody
is looking

they say original
ideas no longer exist
they’ve been put to pasture
in the paradox field
far from here

even that smile
I sometimes see you with
is a replica of a paradox
captured long ago
when we were young





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
29 Jan 2024

telepathy


do you know what I’m thinking
she asked me out of the blue
her voice as distinct
as I had remembered
in god knows how many years

her words were inside my head
as I sat outside a corner cafe
deviceless on a sunny morning
the traffic light but loud
pigeons plentiful & pecking away

I turned to face my right
& then my left & backwards
my hands on the top rail of the chair
fooling myself that she could be within earshot
as opposed to eternally lost
in a sea of consciousness





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
16 Dec 2023

collection


this little glass mason jar
begins with nothing

a small seashell
and a little smooth stone

rubbing between thumb
and forefinger
make a wish
anything is possible

the sun rises the moon sets
it’s another day
in what used to be paradise

forget-me-nots
bloom every other year
dark-eyed juncos
returning every late november

in the little glass mason jar
a feather & a tell
discovered halfway up the hill

deeper inside
in the center of the earth
a new journey begins





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
03 Nov 2023
3 Comments

scene of the crime


in my twenties at university
my habits were more pronounced
than today—quite like my memory

but nonetheless
I was instantly
taken back there
involuntarily

I guess I got to thinking about
the title of this poem while listening
to the lyrics of an alt-rock song
streaming from my car speakers
—afterwards becoming stuck in my
head like a heartache

from there I found myself
back in iowa city
seated at a second floor bar
[maybe] directly above the airliner
the premises about the size
of four boxing rings
—the staircase in the center
vertically challenging

the details are sketchy at best
but there were nunchucks
& a blade involved
one combatant a karate extraordinaire
the other a cross between
batman & edward scissorhands





november two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reservedeyes and rise above

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
01 Nov 2023

redding off the table


there were six of us
maybe seven
seated in the dining room
my grandmother (born in belgium
& someone I’ve never met)
occupying the head

it was a hearty meal
a meat & potatoes kind of deal
homemade bread
fresh fruit & veggies
a little dog
sitting on someone’s lap

not sure my exact age
but I was sporting a red cap
w/a minimal bill
and I remember her telling me
(in her broken english)
it has no place at her table





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
01 Oct 2023

making lists & random reminders


you can find them just about anywhere
on the kitchen counter
inside the cabin of the car
atop the bedroom dresser
coffee table & end tables
and especially in the ‘reminders’ app

it didn’t use to be this way
back when I was as sharp as a tack
but time has a way of chipping away
at the sharpness of wit
the precision of a timepiece
the idleness of a combustion engine

it could be just about anything
items at the grocery store or drug store
or the hardware store
rebooting the modem every sunday
visiting dear old mom at assisted living
or working on my own obituary





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
29 Apr 2023
3 Comments

a pluperfect kind of past


i.

she doesn’t remember me
not the old rock & roll songs
we used to danced to
taking cocaine breaks
back in the dressing room

ii.

I’m nearly her age
but she looks twice mine
at least from my perspective
— that irreversibility of time

iii.

I hear people saying
when did I get old darling
and they say baby
you’ve been timeless
since the day you were born





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

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , ,
15 Apr 2023

caught in the rain


in the back of my mind
it is pouring down rain
awakening me from my slumber
early sunday morning

I imagine the cat is clawing
at the front door
her spatial memory convinced
this is how it magically opens

in the back of my mind
there is thunder & lightning
electrifying my hippocampus
and bringing me to my feet

the cat is at the front door
incapable of comprehending
the shiny button next to the handle
is the key to the next life





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

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
05 Apr 2023

Last Supper


I thought it was Good Friday
so I pulled a Cod filet from the freezer
leaving it to thaw in the strainer

Once at room temperature
I thought I would soak it in a mixture
of Amber Ale & a scrambled egg
coat it w/crumbled Frosted Flakes

I imagined I would pan sear it
in Olive Oil & a pat of butter
serve it w/a chunk of homemade bread

It was supposed to be my Last Supper
but for whatever reason
I don’t remember a Goddamn Thing





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
04 Mar 2023

thunderstorm


my father doesn’t understand
the english language anymore
so I learned a little french
some spanish & portuguese
but that didn’t do the trick

I told him I didn’t want him to die
though deep down inside
I knew it was a pretty white lie

I told him how much I hated him
when I was an adolescent & a teen
but he could no longer hear me
through the cellular lines

my brother once told me
god & him were like this
which is why we continued
playing the back nine
each of us carrying
a bag of lightning rods





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
14 Feb 2023

building a world by memory


I have crossed the threshold
of the shadow
no longer afraid
of being alone
a stranger is my own house
waking me
by way of a touch
every morning at three fifteen

the walls & ceiling are dark
as I lay there
blinking my eyes quickly
my once uninterrupted dream
continuing in various shades
of black & white
until finally dissolving
by way of a volitional light

outside of the dream
all doors & windows are locked
from the inside
I wander from room to room
occasionally settling
at the bay window facing south
watching the river running
faster than usual





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

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
13 Feb 2023

resting at home


it’s become difficult to concentrate
on one thing at a time
the multitasking multiverse
inflicting its influence
over unsuspecting minds

what you’re doing here I have no idea
it seems I can’t recall your name
but if you give me a hint or two
maybe I’ll shout it out
before you leave

they say I’ve been stuck inside
these four walls
for years on end
but all I can remember
is dirty rain falling
outside these dirty windows
an unexpected light
occasionally producing
a dingy looking rainbow





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
25 Nov 2022

checking my mailbox


I keep forgetting things
but then again
I tell myself
I’m not as wired
as I used to be

I’m not into clichés
or goodbye kisses
also not keen on forgetting
recent events

nevertheless
I shrug off certain things
instead of screaming at people
who are not there
knowing eventually I’ll recall
what this life
might be all about

if I pass you on the street
with nary an acknowledgement
I hope you’ll remember
it was nothing intentional





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
13 May 2022

it’s true what they say


that flash before your
very eyes
I see it happening
all the time

[I see it happening
all the time]

it’s true what they say
about the mind
a recorder of everything
playbacks & recalls
sometimes spot on
often faulty
nonetheless all of it
the truth & the way
how a simple gesture
takes you back
before the very beginning
before time itself





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
23 Mar 2022

life before your very eyes


it’s gone
whatever it was
a flashing light
a fleeting thought
a glimpse deep within a newly
created memory
most likely not to be recalled
anytime soon
spared the permanency
of any & all airwaves
perhaps recorded
in some other fashion
in such a way we may
never understand
until time has long passed
and there it is
long last
staring you in the eye





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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