jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “pain”

like a thief in the night


the pain is more or less
bearable
I tell myself

in between breaths
my words
are unrecorded

I hit the play button
but there’s nothing
but ghost static

the sun keeps
disappearing
earlier & earlier

I get up & look
out the window
tell myself

it must be cloudy
tonight
and limp back

to your bedside
& pretend
to steal your pain





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

restless & willing


I don’t know what it means
to feel your pain
how different it must be
than my own
irrefutable & non-replicable

how do you channel it
turn it into something new
earth in the palm of your hand
creating karma w/a
little wind & fire & spit

I once read you can’t
take it with you
wealth & promises & lies
but what you can take
hovers in the background
restless & willing





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

dancing the pain away


ankle sprain wrapped twice
take two aspirin and call
me in the morning

the phone never did ring
and two days later
she had fled on foot

I looked out the door
and all I saw was wind
whipping through the avenue
reminding me of a song
I’d been meaning to finish

days later she was back
upstairs and immobile
either fast asleep
or wide awake
fighting bouts of cold sweat
and hallucinating blue skies
swearing to god one of these days
she’s gonna dance again





march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

misdiagnosis


the good doctor told me the pain
manifested from my mind
from repressed emotions
determined to breach the surface

of course I knew that was unlikely
since I had already committed
to hundreds of the tiniest of needles
designed to free my malevolent spirits


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

thunder and lightning


don’t be afraid
there is nothing wrong
now that the light is gone
now that the pain
once permanent like the
morning sun
has transitioned into
a vague sensation

I didn’t mean to scare you
but you had fallen
into an endless dream
inching in the void
searching for candles
whispering to yourself
what wickedness
takes away such power

alas it was not meant to be
the irises in your eyes
plucked away
by the angels of the sky
taking you further
and further away
promising their beauty
will last forever


may two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

voodoo doll


I rescued you from the scoundrels
washed you and restitched you
and let you lie in my bed

I took out your eyes while
you were asleep
and pinned them inside your heart
whispered softly everything
would be fine in the morning

I promised myself you would no longer
be used for the benefit of others
went on to explain how any pain
you experience from this day forth
would be yours and yours only





april two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

ultra echo


self-inflicted physical pain
is nothing compared to
once abandoned realities
appearing out of the thinnest of air
unfurling into razor-sharp focus
and leaving you crippled
and crying
and praying for the comfort
of that long lost world
inside a world
inside a world
inside a world



july two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

the guardian


you entered the ward
with a smile in your eye
quietly knelt beside me
and whispered of a world
where the dazzling white light
promises to free me
from the pain inside



october two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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