they kept bringing in more men
untrained and unarmed
marching single file in and out of the fire
reborn into rising stars
cast away to recreate
new worlds on their own terms
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
black cat saunters in and out of brambles
spreading freely along roller coaster road
I know I’ve seen those eyes before I do declare
electronic compass pointing due south
speedometer approaching twice the limit
next time I swear I’m going to slow down
and get myself a better look
because I know deep down
I’ve witnessed that instance before
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
half dozen white-eyed blackbirds
pace and fidget on a shelf
grooving to the white album
and lip-syncing at will
unsure what brought them there
not one of them cares
not as long as there are nuts to crack
and old-time rock to hear
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
and everything else in between
they kept saying they didn’t belong here
they just couldn’t tell you why
inmates inside jails are processed like
mental patients in denial
courts are filled with judges tossing out
jesters for recycling old jokes
I remember you telling me how you loved
reading how we’ll die alone
young people everywhere are starving for no
particular reason
a greater cause picks up steam ever slowly
meanwhile we carry on
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
and so it seems every day is saturday
probably in the middle of may
downtown the farmers’ market’s abuzz
like a highly functional beehive
the children love to go downtown
where angels hang out in highrises
being seen by those who can see
otherwise merely open windows
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I notice the water pail ornament
hanging on the wall
is crooked
and I mean by a lot
it’s crooked I say out loud
what’s crooked she shouts back
that red white and blue water pail I say
pointing at the wall
you’re crazy she says
she’s as true and blue as she’s ever been
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
from what I understand
any day now the poles
are going to switch
and the dinosaurs
they could soon thereafter
be right back in the picture
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I awoke to a day without news
and quietly wondered if I had landed in heaven
deciding such thoughts are for birds
incapable of flight
I abandoned the notion
at the same time noticing
there were no winds
and no clouds
nor was there rain or sunshine
I was sitting at the base of a sunflower
that had grown ten stories tall
reading from scrolls that were written
before the earth became blue
there is an end to every story
someone once told me
but as for this one
it is only just beginning
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there is this disconnect that exists
somewhere inside us
hanging out on the fringes
shadowed by a sun dog
pretending to be a drone
virtual viruses take a back seat
to the literal kind
the ones that erase real people
at incredible paces
unable to be stopped
(let alone undone)
by a simple kill switch
when you tug on the string
dangling inside your periphery
do you get a showering light
spreading good news
or is it something quite the opposite
or something else entirely
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
for breakfast I had chocolate eggs
and for second breakfast
I had orange slices and hershey kisses
for lunch I had a BLC with chocolate
coated potato chips
before the whistle blew
a friend texted a message
meet me at parlor city for a few
local cocoa porters
how could I say ‘no’ is all that I could
text back
whistling down third street
this lovely spring day
here in chocolate city
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve not seen it all
this movie that weaves
in and out of close encounters
actors are not what they seem
on any kind of stage
whether supported on oak trestles
or razor thin wire
the money flows like milk and money
brewed and bottled on the black market
where trade secrets are available for sale
anywhere from one to a million bitcoin
sometimes I like to daydream
during the night
just to shake things up
excited to rehearse those parts
I’m least familiar with
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
mother will never die
and i will always remain the child
falling fast asleep to a sound
repetitiously opposing the light
it’s not like
she didn’t know what was best for me
but purposely stopped feeding me
and released me to the sky
lifting her arms up high
cupped hands slowly open
little wings quick at the chance to fly
absorbing all the outside repetition
memorized from within
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I count the repetitions inside my head
but along the way I always lose track
and I’m forced to start all over again
how these malicious ideas get started
is more or less confounding
but somehow they reach the masses
based on misinformation supplied by
bad actors in faraway places
sometimes I wonder what’s inside
this manipulated head of mine
whether or not it patently belongs to me
or is simply home to countless stars
eternally churning dark matter into light
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
this place is broken
tragically in disrepair
like a neglected heart with
various hairline fractures
it’s easy to smile
if only superficially
telling yourself and others
the sickness will somehow end
local physicians
become increasingly absent
sent off on unknown spacecraft
resurrecting those dying
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you talked about getting out of here
taking everything with you
all the albums you ever heard
stashed inside your mummified body
I was just getting to know you
your voice becoming as familiar as songs
that awaken me on midwinter mornings
I should have been upset
but I also should have seen it coming
should have mentioned (in retrospect)
you just can’t take everything
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
where are you going and how deep
have you delved into this world within a world
it’s like discovering a brand new planet
and the race to get there is extreme
actor after actor catching the next wave
your eyes are not your own but then again
what you see is superficial
appearing courtesy of part fact and part fiction
I keep asking you what is the rush
but you’re unable to hear mere mortal words
faint voices sounding vaguely familiar
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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