jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “poem”

16 Jun 2013
2 Comments

architecting a house of cards


I look at pictures of people
from all across the world
and I see the look in their eyes
and say to myself
they are just like me

and then I am reminded
of a good friend
I’ve not seen in ages
who once told me
how much he admired
the individuality of my mind

from there I imagine
collective thoughts make up
the universe as we know it
and without me pinging
this particular poem
the whole thing could implode


june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
16 Jun 2013
7 Comments

there is nothing holy in hypocrisy


why have all the scholars
and scribes and high priests
why have they sealed up the
words of the prophecy
exposing their selfishness
and secrecy for all to see

I have scaled the city walls
and found a new world
where the seeds of truth
sprout from my cupped hands
and water flows like a fountain
deep within the desert



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , ,
15 Jun 2013
4 Comments

some kind of way out of here


in the archives
they let me spend my time
weaving tales of prison breaks
not even the watchtower
can contain

this life inside
the loneliest place on earth
would break the common man
but here I sit and sail away
stealthily

once a month
I wander the yard and chat
with all the pretty young ladies
who stopped writing me
years ago

in my mind
I lived out my days in paradise
where the flowering perennials
rooted before the breach
still flourish


june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
15 Jun 2013
15 Comments

bleeding hearts


I grow bleeding hearts
in my garden
where there is no sun

they thrive in the shadows
where tears
are not seen but heard


june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
11 Jun 2013
17 Comments

fishing with jesus


sometimes I just cry myself to sleep
when I think about all the things
I’m gonna miss about this place
I told jesus
as we sat on the rocks
casting our lines out into the sea
neither of us worrying
whether or not there was fish to catch



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Dreams, Fishing, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
09 Jun 2013
9 Comments

genome projects


this old blue jewel continuously
reinvents herself
through orderly chaos
using beautifully destructive forces
to tear herself down and rise again
in unimaginable creativity

she is her own god forever conjoined
with the serene sky
the strands of creation
emitting sparks from her fingertips
fashioning transcendental elements
into a supernatural world


june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
07 Jun 2013
4 Comments

Long Road to Lake Erie


I imagine running in my native land
known only as Windward Coast
existing in the spoken word
handed down from a language
forced upon my people

Awakening to my nightmarish reality
I prepare to run yet another night
my instructions given and repeated
inside a barn outside Portsmouth
known to me as station number nine

We pursue the waning gibbous
across the Ohio and into the arms
of extraordinary people who
provide encouragement and provisions
and a promise our new life is near

I imagine I’ll run even beyond my death
but for our children they will live
unrestrained and without images
of bounty hunters or bloodhounds
chasing them in their dreams





june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
03 Jun 2013
7 Comments

saturday in the park


sitting on a bench in green square park
one saturday morning
I detected so many ghosts
walking about

the first day of summer
was just a stone’s throw away
and the nine o’clock sun
tried to burn the foggy images
out of my mind’s eye

some wandered alone aimlessly
some marching in groups of two
or three or more
some pretending they really had no business
being here
while yet others carried bags
or pushed empty strollers
hoping to find ways to fill them

at the nearby city gardens
I spotted little ones sniffing
red roses
that always came back to life this time of year

I leaned back and marveled
at how all of the ghosts
managed to travel through time and space
just to revisit opening day
at this year’s farmers’ market




june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , ,
02 Jun 2013
3 Comments

sixth trumpet

from the book of revelation


the sixth angel stood by
knowing well in advance
once the trumpet had sounded
three plagues would break out
throughout the lands

not a soul seemed to fear
the voice from the four horns
of the golden altar instructing
the release of the four angels
bound at the river euphrates

once cut loose they amassed
two hundred million mounted troops
the horses with heads like lions
spewing fire and smoke and sulfur
directly from their mouths

the riders wore breastplates
of fiery red and dark blue
and yellow like sulfur
their horses transmitting disease
wiping out a third of mankind

despite the carnage the world
refused to repent of murder
and thievery and idol worshiping
neither abandoning magical art
nor the work of their hands



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
01 Jun 2013
20 Comments

when the lion awakens from within


so much dark emotion lives
deep within us
locked away from centuries past
idling by and unafraid
able to unleash itself
most unexpectedly

almost anything can spark
its wickedness
awakening from dormancy
and revealing bloody secrets
only unknown ancestors
ever knew subsisted

like a lion suddenly enraged
instinctively
you rush from out of the bushes
rip apart the innocent lamb
quietly devouring
any remnant of yourself




june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
29 May 2013
9 Comments

Thank You for Asking


There is nothing wrong
with my mind
nothing wrong with my body parts
or the way I go about my day
thinking about flowers
I’ve yet to come across

I can still put together a crossword puzzle
like a son of a bitch
but I choose not to
because there are so many more
important things yet to be done

Sometimes I’d rather sit here
and play online poker
while putting together words
I call poetry
and recite them back to myself
nodding and pretending
someone might like them
a half a world away

There is nothing wrong
with my mind
even though some days I wish there was
so I could just sit here
and daydream
and listen to my heart beat



may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , , , , ,
27 May 2013
2 Comments

Ode to a Mad Man


The mad man works alone in lab
concocting something new
he stirs and mixes whilst he blabs
bidding the world adieu.

Realizing not what makes him tick
he wishes to destroy
his enemies he connives to trick
with elaborate decoys.

Alone in thought he laughs aloud
dreaming new creations
bent on destruction he avows
full annihilation.

The big bang theory he repeats
inside his little hole
his wicked mind he does defeat
with self-impaling blows!



may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
26 May 2013
2 Comments

west coast swing


there’s nothing wrong with my eyes
you son-of-a bitch sitting
in the fourth row behind the dugout

I just had them checked the other day

I bought a new jesus crucifix and replaced
the chain with gold leather lace
took it over to the nearest church
and had the padre bless the damn thing

“I watched you on television the other night” he said
“you’re uppercutting everything”

no shit sherlock I said to myself
and thanked him and got the hell out of there

that night I went oh for four and struck out three times

we lost again on getaway day and I spent
the afternoon warming the bench
cheering on the guys and happy knowing
my average wasn’t going to drop again

“you know” said the boss “you should consider
shaving off that seven-day beard

“and as soon as we get home buy your sweetie
some roses and ask her nicely if she’d kiss
the tips of your bats”



may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , ,
25 May 2013
9 Comments

sing of sunshine where there is sorrow


there is no sense
in revisiting all the bad things
that may or may not have happened
instead
think of the things yet to come
like the seeds of dahlia
planted in your mind

create and smile and live
the way only you know how
and call forth into your mind
sunshine
where there is none
and beat back the darkness
with luminescent petals





may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
24 May 2013
16 Comments

the remorseful escort


you did not hear her last cries
trapped inside the carrier case
the confusion in her eyes
penetrating my mind
and weakening my spirit
as I attempted to justify
why the end must be near

as we drove away I wondered
if she really had reached
her ninth and final life
or would the ultimate solution
transport her someplace special
where there is no pain
and love is everlasting

missy kitty
Missy Kitty – Born 1999

twenty-four may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
23 May 2013
5 Comments

you can run but you cannot hide


the local news pushes its way
into the palm of my hand
a constant reminder
the information age
continues to shrink the planet

I’d been considering lately
of moving back to Iowa
but reports of violence
creeping in and out of her cities
leads me to conclude
there’s no place left to hide


may two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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