jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “poem”

01 May 2020

gasping for air


her heart is racing
easily exceeding one hundred
beats per minute

she came in for a simple procedure
but we’re sending her off to emergency
to get her beating heart
under control

how many specialists does it take
how many second opinions
how many prescriptions

here try this & if that doesn’t work
we’ll give that a try
and if that doesn’t work
take two aspirins
& call me (maybe) in the morning

now she’s stuck in the middle
of the staircase (to heaven)
mostly because there’s no elevator
no contraption she can sit in
conveying her body
from one cloud to the next

in reality they were able
to stop the bleeding
finally took the thing out from her leg

but what about that beating heart
one hundred beats per minute & counting
I mean just how fast
is fast enough




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
30 Apr 2020

where there’s a will


how do you find inspiration
in a single word
something universal
yet undefinable
like a child of the sky

she easily escapes you
becoming invisible
in a single word
off skirting the edges
by way of a tailwind

lost to his own devices
he looks inside
discovers compassion
in a single word
the moment passing by




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

30/30 #napowrimo

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
29 Apr 2020
4 Comments

little big bang theory


twenty-eight minutes
that’s all that’s left
until all the little things
orbiting around
any celestial goddess
will congeal themselves
into one great big thing
spontaneously spinning itself
out of its routine
thereby making the universe
a little more or less complex
than it already was




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
28 Apr 2020

Chernobyl


After many years had passed
the property (and therefore the estate)
was finally put to bed
but do not be fooled into believing
it was the last chapter of one story
and the beginning of another
and while the truth may never be told
what would transpire afterwards
may best be described
as a continuation of days gone by
for you see the place was originally constructed
from inside the privacy of the forest
and those witnessing its gradual expansion
(from one generation to the next)
were protected from the outside world
and whether seen as a secret society or not
one thing remains
forests will turn into deserts
and deserts will turn into oceans
and disciples of god will become fishers of men
and anything deeded to a human or otherwise
will eventually be returned to its maker




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
27 Apr 2020
2 Comments

changing directions


an uninspired idea germinates
in the back of your mind
probably belonging to someone else
one year or two score
or four hundred years ago

long used to going alone
feet controlling the floor pedals
hands on steering wheel & shifter
someone you once knew
begins singing in the passenger seat

past experiences & premonition
tells you the bulging moon
will soon be rising
and so you pick up the pace
the music getting louder all by itself




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged ,
26 Apr 2020
2 Comments

bringing back to life


all day I sit in silence on the back deck
passing the afternoon away
small block of wood & jack knife in hand

day turns to evening & evening into night
I’ve grown weary from all the whittling
in what has become extended silence

fact is I was not alone & my mind was filled
with multitudes of windchimes & birdsong
& the babbling of the nearby stream
reminding me of all the music I’ve ever loved

when the april shower began to fall
I stood and closed my knife
disappearing in my pants pocket
my recreation resting in my shirt pocket
in sync with the rain & my heartbeat




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
25 Apr 2020

this is only a test


they say there’s an open book test afterwards
taken in a room full of empty school desks
geometrically formed like a military cemetery

you’re the first one to sit down
and soon thereafter
every person you ever knew
fill the remaining seats one by one

true or false when you were twelve your mother
made you smoke a cigarette in front of her
and afterwards warned you ‘never again’

multiple choice was your first fish caught
from the banks of the mississippi
a cat or a smallmouth bass or a bluegill

it’s okay if you don’t remember
it’s all ancient history by now
like bill & monica or romeo & juliet or adam & eve

this test has no time limit
and the clock on the wall has no hands
and those winged creatures walking back & forth
between the endless aisles
haven’t anything better to do
while waiting for their number to be called

with each wrong answer you’re beginning to wonder
what the consequences could possibly be

I mean will they cast you back & make you start all over




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
24 Apr 2020

inside an oreo cookie


this story starts in the middle
like inside an oreo cookie

there’s a whole bunch of them
stacked like poker chips
right there on the kitchen counter

I begin to wonder who put them there

then I begin to think
something isn’t right
and I turn my back and step away

of course I stop and turn back around
I am drawn back to the counter
my inquisitive brain processing
like a little watson

why are they here
and why are they stacked

I pick off the top one
with my thumb and three fingertips
and slowly twist it open




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 Apr 2020

self-medicating


having recovered from near death
I retrace my footsteps one month
two months
or maybe more
recalling how I always
get the flu shotcome october
but this time when the new year arrived
I spent a fortnight fighting off
consciousness
occasionally succumbing
to a bad dream
but mostly
& slowly nursing myself [back to
less frequent hallucinations]
by consecrating
my very own cocktails
into patentlyomnipotent medication




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
22 Apr 2020
2 Comments

a quiet revolution


breathe dear earth breathe
bring forth new life from past sins
clear the skies and cleanse the seas
as if it’s resurrection day

forgive dear earth forgive
allow pause where pause is due
remind us daily we’re just visiting
like a surfer atop a wave

believe dear earth believe
a wealth of harmony and truth exists
deep within the souls you create
praying for peaceful ways




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
21 Apr 2020

in the line of fire


or so it seems these extreme times
call for a new way of thinking
conspiracy theories superseding
previous thought processes
causing your world to shrink
and your mind to expand
further than previously thought possible

it’s come to a point where rationality
is further from any reality
where every little fact of life
every tidbit of information
has somehow turned against you
and you find your back up against a wall
unlit cigarette sticking out of your face




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
20 Apr 2020
2 Comments

Baby in the window


for Aubrey Jean

They are song sparrows
nesting inside a popcorn tin
hanging beneath the eaves
vessel rocking from side to side
[from the constant coming & going]
like a boat tied to the dock
continuously in motion
but unable to sail away

From inside the conservatory
a baby is fixed at the scene
a toddler to be exact
an unsteady walker without ankles
pointing at the popcorn tin
[at the constant coming & going]
unaware they are singers
incoherently repeating baby




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , ,
19 Apr 2020
2 Comments

if only for the last time


a new may day straight ahead
one like none other
if and when we actually get there

I made a promise I would change
but that was long ago
& now I can’t recall into what

tonight we watch the sun turn blue
swallowing the night
making all the rivers rise higher

you’ve been here before
playing victim & demon & god
chasing the impossible moon
if only for the last time




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
18 Apr 2020

north by northwest


let’s see what’s different today
besides which way the wind blows
pushing us all the way downtown
where everything seems to stay the same

when we were strangers
all the windows were boarded up
as if a hurricane were imminent
threatening inland for hundreds of miles

but that was yesterday
and today is just beginning to bake
top down on the 30-year-old roadster
car radio unable to pick up a frequency

all day we headed north by northwest
stopping at every other vacated town
commenting about eerie similarities
and those darker clouds in the rearview




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
17 Apr 2020
2 Comments

Color TV


The city center is dead
like Lazarus of Bethany
three days removed from reality
soon to go on four

There are fewer varieties
of pigeons sweeping the streets
and even fewer homeless
following not much further behind

Looking for food here
is becoming a scarcity
leftovers abruptly becoming
buried with the past
aeries and penthouses
gradually vacated

Behind some high-rise windows
so many untold stories
behind off-white shrouds
varying degrees of light
flit & flutter like a butterfly
suggesting there may be life after all




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, In the City, Poetry and tagged ,
16 Apr 2020

not too far from here


I keep trying to imagine this world
without me
but I get stuck right in the moment
unmoving in a traffic jam
the fixed moon looking down at me
through the sunroof
saying most of this is not real
in the first place

one moment I’m exactly
where I think I am
and the next I’m transported
from inside a little glass tube
crash testing the latest
and greatest innovation
somehow coming out in one piece
on some other side

even when you find yourself isolated
you feel you’re never alone
your right hand guiding
an imaginary zeppelin across
difficult terrain
reporting back to mother
on a higher frequency
this may be the final moment




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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