peace of mind
armed conflict
is for the weak & narrow
a clear indication
a good night’s sleep
requires little more
than peace of mind
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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poetry by j matthew waters
Archive for the tag “poem”
Traveling through time
There’s too much activity
too much energy
and too little space
How many bodies
can you put in a capsule
and expect everyone
to come out alive—
on the other side
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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yer out
eyes laser-focused
on the knuckle curve
crossing the outside lower half
home plate umpire more than emphatic
his fists doing the one-two jab
taking the batter out without
ever knowing what hit him
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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reunited peacefully
in the cemetery
a murder of crows
perched high above
the oak trees
watching the gathering
in silence
nobody realized
they were in attendance
probably curious
about the thermos
a foldable yardstick
and a small wooden box
after the visitors
one by one drove away
so too did the crows
take flight
quietly consumed
by ominous clouds
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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Beyond this world
The knowledge of the past stays with us.
To let go is simply to release any images and emotions.
― Alan Watts
The art of letting go
Like a mechanical flow
Releasing anxiety’s hold
Physical pleasure’s gleam
Disappointed like an empty dream
Repeating a story untold
Destinations never found
In an evil sense bound
Pleasure’s grasp or a futile plea
Don’t hold on too tight
One day they’ll be much light
Abandonment forever free
The poor in spirit knows
Which burdens one must forgo
No heavy weight to carry
Beyond this world
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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beneath the desert floor
she sails the high sands
a spanish galleon
having drifted off course
from the gulf of california
centuries ago
prospectors & geologists
die to find her treasures
buried perhaps
beneath laguna salada
or further north
along the salton sea
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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radioactive
creeping through the soil
like an earthworm
it has no destination
watch your step
you don’t know where
those rocks have been
alchemists assay
ancient elements
in search of black magic
wolves of chernobyl
teach resistance
to their little ones
walking hospital hallways
cancer patients
pray for miracles
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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The Penguin
And so I showed up
to the halloween party
just before midnight
wearing nothing but
a black tuxedo
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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while waiting to see the doctor
always competitive
the byproduct of older
siblings who went full bore
on & off the field
always driven I strove
to be the smartest
the fastest
the most nimble
and quite possibly
the best embellisher
not only did I excel
in most endeavors
but I had to fabricate
[to anyone who would listen]
how much better I was
than in reality
at some point the lies
catch up with you
and after a lifetime
of having to live with them
you look back at all your losses
and say to yourself
look here
you failed more times
than you’d care to admit
and then wonder exactly when
you became so lonely
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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those old blue jeans
walking out of the water
we weren’t wearing pants
although there’s not much
recorded history on this
in the garden of eden
it was kind of & sort of
the same story
no shoes or shirts or pants
but alas those places
were more or less tropical
places where you can put
your hair down
and just be yourself
so this pants craze
must have started
centuries later
once we started venturing
closer to either pole
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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less than ordinary
your imagination is active
fighting your instincts
to remain in the past
creating new distractions
stories you call them
telling people quite possibly
they’re autobiographical
you say you’ve seen lands
I’ve only dreamed of
but how you were able
to travel there
without passport
let alone credit
confounds me to this day
as I look on my own past
and all its duplicities
I find myself appearing less
than ordinary on the surface
and quite probably
nondescript underneath
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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rearranging the night
rest does not come easy
when a saboteur of dreams
aka enemy of the state
infiltrates the perimeter
at the strike of midnight
a master of arrangement
altering sequence of events
turning reveries into flashbacks
and daybreak into heartache
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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where the dust never settles
we were supposed to be
in california
somewhere due north
of san pablo bay
but somehow wound up
in scottsdale arizona
where it didn’t take long to notice
the dust never settles
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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The Oracle
You have imagined
what it would be like
to live in the ocean again
though possess no desire
to make it a reality
The shadows of your past
will soon catch up with you
though have nothing new
to pass on
instead encourage you
to seek alternative paths
You once thought
you were brought here
by accident
that your parents had nothing
to do with your presence
To be abandoned
never seemed to bother you
though deep down inside
you’ve always wanted
to be found
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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at the end of the day
I tested resolve using
a candescent light
barely shining
within the darkness
breaking past the light
I picked all the colors
along the path
—one by one they fell
by the wayside
like discarded petals
at the end of the day
the sound of gratitude
replayed inside my head
soft like a lullaby
that once put me to sleep
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
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once becoming undocumented
after losing my wallet & passport
either to forgetfulness
or a pickpocket
I’ve suddenly become
undocumented
but I was born here I say
I just don’t remember
coming out of
my mother’s womb
—that this place is all I know
but now that I find myself
undocumented
I simply don’t know anymore
I don’t give them permission
to go through my phone
but they do it anyway
surprised to see I’ve
got three virtual credit cards
and money in the bank
you can’t stay here they say
turn around & put
your hands behind your back
what are you doing I say
this is where I belong
please don’t take me away
you’re undocumented
they go on to say
there’s nothing else we can do
april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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