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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “poem”

12 Nov 2016
9 Comments

cast away


sitting sober on picnic table
made of driftwood
I wonder when in the world
my checkered cloth will arrive

I stare out at the ocean
where an angel without wings
hangs ten while blowing kisses my way

I tell myself she’s just having fun
though I’m sure if she wanted
she could move these continental shelves
much faster to california

last night I built a cathedral out of sand
wherein the choir sang until the rains came

in the morning the beach was new again
and all I could do was pray
to the father and the son
and the ghost of my former self



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , ,
11 Nov 2016
11 Comments

wrapping flowers in blankets


we built a fire in the fire pit
kept it going into december
when the sky was blue
and air was cold

you played violin
and I played harmonica

we sang to the fire in the sky
we prayed for the fog to roll in

the first frost came and went
but we were ill-prepared
like we always were

I keep telling you I am the same boy
you first met decades ago
and you tell me the ocean is still green



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
10 Nov 2016
11 Comments

hiding behind marshmallow clouds


descending into madness at midnight
I pull pieces of bread from my pockets
feeding them to my soul

in the morning I take tylenol
and pour raw milk onto a
bowl of rice krispies
listening to vague childhood memories

in the middle of the afternoon the full
moon hides behind marshmallow clouds
my conscience reminding me
(as I fall into a self-induced slumber)
how everything becomes edible in the end



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
08 Nov 2016

give me some rope


boxer in training jumping
wrists turning
as quick as feet
flashing
slashing
accelerating

boy scout wannabe
learning to tie new knots
manipulating with tongue
stuck out
twisting
shouting
unraveling

hangman’s noose
more powerful than a firm
handshake
unnerved and intent on
preventing
deliverance
to the promised land



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
06 Nov 2016
2 Comments

looking past the glass


windows cut into stone walls
lining brick-laid streets
encasing faceless mannequins
watching the world spin by

some sitting on bar stools
others standing in pose
modeling teacups or tumblers
elbows rising and falling in time

outsiders dare not look inside
lest they become mesmerized
lured into a complacent hold
baring nothing but skin and bone



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
04 Nov 2016
7 Comments

precious declarations


I don’t belong here in this place where ordinary men
walk beside bearded men on a mission
to save the world from unrighteousness

I emptied my pockets
to show them I had nothing to offer
and then I pointed to a vaulted door
where I said the world’s fortune can be found
as long as they can handwrite a note
and strap themselves with explosives

down the street they imploded a highrise
and now once extraordinary humans crawl on
hands and knees searching through the rubble
for something that isn’t there

most days I just sit on a park bench
and marvel at the keys I’ve collected
showing my shadowless friends
how this one used to start my car
how this one once lowered the drawbridge
and how this one (in conjunction with the guard key)
unlocks a strongbox safekeeping the world’s
most precious declarations



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , ,
01 Nov 2016

haiku in outer motion


two sided candle
flames in the mirror enlarge
inertia building

light enters darkness
camera sans aperture
tricking gravity

pardon the grey star
lingering behind curtain
dying to explode

whole new worlds open
warp speed into asteroids
tumbling past space rocks



november two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
30 Oct 2016
6 Comments

outside these city walls


I was thinking about changing things up
by rising out of bed without an agenda
hitting the streets on steel tipped boots
marching alongside a new kind of drummer

they blocked off the old holiday parade route
days before dismantled tanks rolled in
armless soldiers handing out ruby red grapefruits
and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies

I walked alongside millions of newfound friends
all drawn to this place by an unknown star
embracing change with song and dance
(while outside these city walls)
stockpiles of old ideas burned day and night



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , ,
26 Oct 2016

dancing on white sand


there was a number
maybe there were two or three
that when put together
added up to something
like an old fashioned love song

half notes and quarter notes
bounce off amphitheater rooftops
drifting into the cloudless sky
slowly dissolving like helium
balloons and unbridled kites

spiders and bears and
little tea kettles crawl through
open backlit space
giving chase to new ideas
dying to be composed

they say the song lives on
riding falling stars
content with returning to earth
surfing atop ocean waves
seeking a brand new dance floor



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
24 Oct 2016
3 Comments

as I turn off the light


the sun rises in the east
and there is no place to escape

time chases me in my sleep
forcing me into places I would
never dare enter otherwise

the sun dangling over my shoulder
I’m reminded I could be facing
something much worse
than my own shadow

the city streets are cold tonight
interminable winds whistling
past streetlights that never dim



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
23 Oct 2016
10 Comments

lessons in motivation


if I knew I would tell you
where I find my motivation

sometimes it hides like a child
secretly wanting to be found

this motivation can be evasive
like an answer that really
doesn’t address the question

it sits on a roadside
like a vagrant with a sign
in search of his next meal

it rests in a tree like a songbird
missing his sweetheart
and singing the blues

it can be found buried beneath
a pile of colorful leaves
waiting to burst into a mushroom

this motivation of mine
sometimes is missing for months on end
cast into the open sea
like a message bobbing inside a bottle



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
22 Oct 2016
2 Comments

annual transformations


stranger is the night on halloween eve
like a mad scientist creating in the lab
saving face from an alien race

growing wings like a common housefly
aspiring to be an angel for one sad girl
laughing quietly behind closed door

time travelers get lost exploring
mountains or underground tunnels
designed to keep you trapped inside
spherically-shaped revolving objects

nothing to hide and everything to gain
he loses himself beneath her skin
stealing mind and body and soul
invisible wires tied to extremities




october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
20 Oct 2016
3 Comments

a-riding on a pony come memorial day


in wellington heights they say
leaders come and leaders go
some saying martin luther king
was born generations before
or after his time

january leads to february
streets warming to better ideas
parents and cops weary of getting past
valentine’s day without any
gunfire or stabbings

weeks later rumor has it
jesus christ consults with malcolm little
and chris columbus
dispelling myths about the
course of human history and
organizing neighborhood watches

they talked about having a parade
come summer solstice
off-duty officers shadowing children
gathered at curbside
collecting wrapped candy
thrown by yankee doodle himself



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
19 Oct 2016
7 Comments

preparing for peace


pressure cookers
left on roadside
explode harmlessly
at midday rush hour

the prince is tied up
having his hair done
the news at nine
report nothing

stray dogs and cats
wander the streets
window shopping
after sundown

the city is silent
bracing for the calm
children catching
fireflies in glass jars

the bottle is empty
the magic is gone
the king is all but dead
long live the queen



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , ,
18 Oct 2016
8 Comments

what happens here may not stay here


inside your walk-in closet you keep
a wooden bowl atop your dresser
filled past the brim with little things
little tidbit kinds of things that have little
to no value like bottlecaps and matchbooks
rubber bracelets and key chains
a deck of the tiniest of cards you’re
quite sure has played solitaire

sometimes you imagine a little spider
lives inside the tidbit of things
milling about mostly in the dark
but occasionally coming out on afternoons
to unwind atop the deck of cards
basking in the filtered light
leaking through diamond-shaped openings
that really aren’t here nor there



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
17 Oct 2016
3 Comments

it’s a long way to where I’m going


there is nothing ever new
it has always been there before
whether it be spaceships or dinosaurs

to be or not to be
give me liberty or give me death
what are they but bold proclamations
made by multitudes (of men)
long before recorded history

there is this cumulation of sorts
that continually runs on autopilot
where storms and wars become
even more powerful
nature against man
man against nature (and man)
relentlessly pounding
worldwide peace movements
that somehow flourish surrealistically
century after century

it’s a long way to where I’m going
but chances are once I get there
nobody will ever know



october two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , ,

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