jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “nature”

08 Mar 2015
12 Comments

realigning the natural order of things


spade in hand
he didn’t have to go far
to reach rock bottom
sinking the blade into the earth
at the base of the limestone steps

ground firm but forgiving
from a wet winter
it didn’t take long to uncover
a row of sunken treasure preserved
by a mother’s touch and
protective nightcrawlers

this won’t be the last time
these stones have been moved
from one place
to another
won’t be the last time uncovered
by human hands and
reassembled into some sort of order





march two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
01 Mar 2015
11 Comments

back in the shack


you’ll find it in the middle of somewhere
surrounded by a fog in a field of woods
discoverable through a natural maze
filled with a variety of wildflowers

walking through the door you swear
you became someone other than yourself
and the moment you sit and open your mind
the shack is filled with a beautiful light





march two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
11 Feb 2015

sacrificial is the light


out in the fields
bonfires consume the air
pushed by the wind and shoving back
sparkling like stars
and speaking in new tongues

eons away prehistoric microlife awaken
hypnotic and unknowingly
attracted to the light
traveling at the speed of a lifetime
before effortlessly giving in
with unmitigated enthusiasm



february two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
17 Dec 2014
4 Comments

mountain pass


looking west there stands
nearly insurmountable rock
not geometric like pyramids
but geologic like the very deities
that once formed them

mysterious like oceans
neither height nor depth matters
to sleeping giants
giving refuge to time travelers
desperate for a fresh start

on the other side the view
unveils unforeseen majesty
turning the world inside out
and mysteriously removing
anything worth dying for



december two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
13 Oct 2014
13 Comments

good riddance to october rain


I don’t remember autumn being this wet
she said

I blinked my eyes and looked outside
thinking to myself what an
absurd thing to say

it’s not that wet I said it’s just an illusion

it’s wet enough they canceled tonight’s
baseball game she said

real men play in the rain I said

you’re an idiot she said and walked away

I raised my glass and made a silent toast
to rid the world of absurdity
and rainy october nights




october two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
20 Sep 2014
11 Comments

her world as she knew it


they say there is no setting
or rising of the sun
they say it is always there
and it’s just your imagination
that sometimes it is not

with that in mind I stood at the
doorstep and handed a child
paper and markers and
asked her to interpret the
world as she knew it

from inside her mind she drew
countless circles orbiting
infinite stars
and every now and then
she placed a new moon
where you’d least expect it

I wondered how many of her
suns supported life as we know it
and as I was about to ask her
she told me she needed
more space and time



september two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
09 Jun 2014
7 Comments

Watching a Petal


With exact timing the rain-soaked branchlet
released water-droplets; while below
a soft, geranium petal strained to reach
the four o’clock sun, its efforts deterred
by a consistent explosion of sorts.


originally penned circa nineteen ninety-two
audio recorded june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
07 Jun 2014
3 Comments

spider queen


santa ana winds fan
the flames and further
separate the queen
from her entourage

armed with rain clouds
pawns venture in unafraid
questing to rescue the
queen of the stone age

her king relocates castle
closer to the shoreline
petitions clergymen
for a wing and a prayer

backed into a corner
queen abandons her netting
races with her babies
spraying pepper mace


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
06 Jun 2014
2 Comments

ode to the sea bird


bird of prey
invisible in flight
dies a hero’s death
rises on the other side

bird renewed
transgressing in time
dives past new moons
attacks as meteorites

bird of the ark
born inside a lab
circles among the clouds
destined to find land


june two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
08 May 2014
2 Comments

a moveable boulder


sometimes by millimeters
other times by inches the boulder
moved closer to the edge

over time the river carved
new pools out of wind and rain
recreating and repeating itself
reinventing the landscape via
natural courses of events

all the while the boulder
followed along the bank
like an intricate mechanism
inside a priceless chronometer
powered by the sun and destined
to witness the end of time


may two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
28 Apr 2014
7 Comments

Sugarcane


Acres of sugarcane slowly
burn from manmade fires
designed to consume
dry leaves and deadly snakes
before the open fields
are methodically cut with
machine-like men wielding
cane knives and machetes

Such worldwide crops become
building blocks for molasses and
rum and fuel for third world engines
but when refined and shaped
into bite-sized cubes
become dropped and stirred
into coffee and tea
oftentimes popped
directly into childrens’ mouths




rewritten april two thousand fourteen
original dated october two thousand eleven
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
27 Apr 2014
4 Comments

intelligent species


you started out as an idea
and developed beyond creation

abandoning the seed
you thrived in and out of water
sailing beyond mountains and
conquering various realities

you are a like a tumultuous
space rock hell-bent on
reckless behavior and aspiring
to start whole new worlds

you started out as an idea
and evolved into yet another
intelligent species


april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
06 Apr 2014
14 Comments

blue river


I wandered down to the river
where the rolling rock
segues into a row of willows
settled inside the shadows
and wished my blues away

dark clouds gathered ‘round
blanketing the sunshine
casting sheets of rain upon the river
purposefully rhythmical
yet without any reason

eyes surrendering to gravity
I spread my body across the ground
like an angel with torn wings
dreaming within the willows
in every single color except blue





april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
30 Mar 2014
7 Comments

narcissus


show me something pretty
she said
something that will make me smile
and say oh my
the world is so wonderful

I drew a daffodil
emerging from an inch of snow
her golden inflorescence in
stark contrast to the dilapidated
barn in the background

she’s perfect she said
but I’m saddened
nobody in the world
except herself
will behold her beauty




march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
14 Mar 2014

to the queen’s rescue


court jester hoists me up
far enough
my hands grasping the bow
feet skimming along the bark
stepping vertically until
finding myself in seated position
like a fisherman

from there I cast my line
past the edge
hook motioning like a pendulum
butterfly bait caught in
capillary branches
fluttering and struggling
to belabor a million breaths

crawling out on bloodline branch
the fate of coin weighs
heavily upon a commoner’s quest
either flipping and falling
straight to the ground
or forever hailed as the
queen’s guardian angel


march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
01 Mar 2014
2 Comments

the ides of march is near


they say march can be a lion
some say she’s gentle like a lamb
I say she’s no different
than I’ve ever known her
all my years living in this land


march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →