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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “music”

12 Apr 2025
4 Comments

the last place imaginable


it’s twenty twenty-five
listening to vinyls
in the second bedroom
turned into opium den
—long plays by the beatles
stones & cream

windows wide open
peaceful vibes attract
various passersby
—curiosity seekers clad in
nostalgic blue jeans
or new wave outerwear

music like a passage
through time
sometimes cast from
the last place imaginable
—perhaps from your
very last lifeline


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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
29 Oct 2024
2 Comments

before the song is over


in the other room
someone turned up the volume
to the next live selection
someone with just one name capturing
words pronounced beautifully
improvising & cultivating
sublimely belting someone else’s song
making it her very own

it’s how I remember it
but probably not how it went down
—recollections having a funny way
of spawning their own selective stories

similar to poetry
song has a way of making connections
in multitudes of ways
especially when remastered
in such a way
it brings tears to your eyes—
your heart largely affected


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
03 Sep 2024
2 Comments

without time on his side


life is short but music lasts forever
this much he knew

he wanted to be taller
but accepted his shortness
decided it would be best
to focus on music

finding ways to make it beautiful
varying in duration
adding meaningful lyrics
seemingly conjured out of thin air

fully believing
he was paving the way for the future
the music in his ear
suddenly vanished
leaving behind a number of works
he had created
in a very short period of time


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
07 Apr 2024
6 Comments

strumming on an old guitar


it was showtime in no time
james taylor playing in the background
strumming on an old guitar

in the back room
sounds beautifully muffled
a single rose rising out of a tall pilsner glass
a passerby unable to keep her eyes
off of the blue & the black

the music is everywhere
and if you’re alive but don’t hear it
there is little need to worry
in just a matter of time you will


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
29 Mar 2024

sometimes they go country


sometimes they go crazy
for many good reasons
sometimes they rise & fall
faster than a new york minute
but sometimes they go country
none other than to prove
that by tweaking the attitude
just about anything
can be done


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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
06 Feb 2024

music listening to music


I listen to music
to step away from thought
from the overwhelming
bullets whizzing past
fast cars endangering
the local cat population

listening to music
doesn’t cure cancer
or reset broken bones
but can temporarily fix
broken hearts or coax
someone from the ledge

music listens to music
for obvious reasons
because sometimes it too
becomes depressed
at times suffocates from a
silence that won’t go away





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

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

the last waltz


I’m like a transistor radio w/many channels
what song would you like to hear

now god is coming through loud & clear
in the form of the twenty-third psalm

an invisible hand reaches out
advancing the dial from station to station

red hot chili peppers take to the waves
road trippin’ with their two favorite allies

joplin & meat loaf singing a duet
sinatra & winehouse as backing vocals

wrigley guests in the television booth
singing take me out to the ballgame

there’s no such thing as dead air
not as long as I’m spinning the vinyls

late night shift quickly coming to an end
I leave you with the last waltz





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

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

Breaking away


In-laws & outlaws
pretending to keep it real
laying down low in Coffeyville

One went country
two others headlong into hip-hop
the rest of the clan
sticking to rock & roll
w/an occasional nod to bluegrass

They reinvented what it means
to be broken people
having escaped the torture
of south central Kansas
settling for something brand new
something along the lines of Beverly Hills





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

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

the idol maker


close your eyes & make a wish
it just may be your last

who’s next is playing
in the background
& suddenly you find yourself
in nineteen seventy-one

the current wars
aren’t much different than the old ones
especially when launched
by the eventual loser

but the music that ensues
the poetry yet to come
now that is beauty to the ears
turkey-noodle soup for the soul
[respectively]

you sit back & say things like
I remember when
or back in the day
everyone surrounding you
singing yeah yeah yeah
a chorus for the ages





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

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
26 Feb 2023
2 Comments

smooth


the girl in the barrio
listened to the radio
every night
keeping the volume
as low as possible
so as not awaken
the others
the music soft
and soothing
as smooth as her skin
glowing from
the shine of the moon
her emotions
ruled by a heart
destined to understand
life outside these walls





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

Posted in In the City, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
12 Jan 2023

czech village shuffle


it was cool at the microbrew
vinyls playing on turntable
jazz & blues & some rock & roll
streaming from the speakers
hanging from the ceiling

they take requests
or you can bring your own
tracks piped into the adjacent room
imbibers waltzing & grooving
to the likes of anyone’s guess

they say it’s the place to be
as long as the lights are low
—the barrels all aflow
hands & feet shuffling in & out
of the [corner] revolving door





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

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
21 Jun 2022

the show must go on


a little snare drum roll
feet tapping & fingers snapping
waiting on the vocalist
to enter center stage

where o’where could she be
all the faceless people
keep asking themselves
where o’where is the lovely
the talented
the beautiful vocalist

their faces slowly dissolve
into a sea of green
little red triangles floating
here & there
as if having no particular
place to go

soon the band of three
becomes two
& eventually only the percussionist
survives the wreckage
he & his little snare drum shaken
but taking requests
as if becoming the focal point
of the evolutionary
underwater show





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
10 Dec 2021

something like poetry


idling on tokyo avenue
waiting for the light to turn green
boston blaring from coaxial speakers
back in the summer of seventy-nine

it’s easy to misremember
exactly how everything
went down in the day
but the music
that’s another story entirely
always open to interpretation





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

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
08 Dec 2021

replaying the b-sides


the songs are always there
no copyright needed
you keep them on a shelf
in the air or deep within
on a rotisserie device
you created by following
the instructions
on a youtube video

in a prior life you played
piano in front of thousands
another time lead singer
in a pre-grunge band
the most memorable [however]
in non-performing roles
whether unencumbered in the loge
or all lit up in the mosh pit





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
03 Nov 2021

knockoffs & supernatural forces


the merchant of deceit
bootlegging forty-fives of maria maria
& smooth & put your lights on
right there on the information superhighway
accepting any kind of coin without recourse

there is lawlessness on the proverbial streets
whether real or virtually above or underground
vendors of any kind on every corner
participating in the so-called great steal

the music is universally accepted
speaking to all of us freely in any language
priceless and without prejudice
we participate in the pageantry of it all
plugging the meter whenever necessary





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
16 May 2021

into the garage


it doesn’t take long
to move things around
trashing all the obvious objects
leaf-blowing the floor
from one corner to the next
one time two times three
lastly valeting the vehicles
out onto the street

the love van backs up
contents emptying themselves
into the garage
anything needing power plugged in
keyboards & guitars
drums & cymbals all assembled
neighborhood curiosos
beckoned from their comfort zones




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

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

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