yes I get the point
where I don’t exist anymore
and time moves on
whatever that means
there are so many moons
yet to discover
hopping & skipping
from one to the next
as if I’m a kid again
living & breathing
outside of the fish bowl
one-way ticket
taking me to places
unimaginable
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
They come from out of this world
defying the very stars that sent them
hurtling through space & time
a heatseeker homing in on sheet of ice
Having reached the top of the world
that which was magically aslumber
suddenly becomes the hottest place to be
—in a flash a brand new ground zero
From all corners the people soon follow
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’m a songbird
without a song
whispering sweet
nothings
there is sadness
in the silence
this much I know
I’m a songbird
without a song
listening for a clue
on a windless night
but there is only sadness
in the silence
this much I know
I’m a songbird
without a song
underestimated
and determined
turning sadness
into a melody
this much I know
practicing wetting
my whistle
until the morning light
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
no arms no legs
I’ve become even more
animated than I
ever was with them
—lecturing & reciting
separating fact from fiction
[& occasionally portending]
passing along good
news w/the bad
—eyes in the crowd agaze
transfixed in ways
causing me to ponder
what good
may I possibly be doing
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been failing at making
up words
keeping my pursuit of achievement
in good working order
I’ve been at it a few weeks now
talking to myself whilst
walking
(re)cycling
sitting in the dark
giving up multiple vices
and beckoning the god
of the spoken word
the god of voice
instead of adding to the pot
I’ve been losing
consonants
mainly by changing them to vowels
rearranging for no other reason
than to amuse myself
—kicking them down the road
like a tin can
or an igneous rock
it’s been like a whirlwind
inside my makeshift laboratory
letters on magnets
flying through the air
splatting onto anything metal
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the sun is mine again
having wrestled it back
from faceless thieves
who had robbed me at gunpoint
along the lonely road to redemption
they carried with them
countless possessions
items undoubtedly dug up
on moonlit nights
from fields where lilies & poppies
flourish exponentially
no longer traveling alone
my companion is my guide
taking me to places
unimaginable
a journey free from the absurdities
of an all too fleeting life
on this once chromatic planet
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve not yet started living
having been bogged down
in a dissident quagmire
wishing incessantly to be
drugged & tortured
by a make-believe enemy
[instead I am held
against my will
charged w/imaginary crimes
against humanity]
again I plea
I’ve not engaged in any sort
of alleged insanity
—and if you would be so kind
to free me from these chains
I will set out on foot
with neither contraband
nor weaponry
in a direction opposite
from my mother’s love
with nary a thought
to kill again
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
this is all I know
concealed in a poem
like an eternal idea
or a waxing moon
forever drifting further
from mother earth
the eternal idea
residing in a poem
the seas calm
on a moonless night
thoughts drifting
past the firelight
seas remain calm
catamarans adrift
the idea of a poem
turned into dust
chasing a comet’s tail
on a moonless night
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
even with all of the advances
we remain virtually the same
our emotions controlling our actions
be it falling in love or waging war
in nondescript places
habits seem impossible to break
be it religion or sleeping in
night owls constantly devising
early birds wreaking havoc
on your best laid plans
so there you go making room
for the new & maybe improved you
running into newfound friends
[and sworn enemies]
in virtually all the same places
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
at the end and beginning of a constant
forward motion ~ tectonic plates
invisible to the naked eye
one day you imagine you’ll see
how they work in real-time
a front row seat so to speak
keeping the planet’s wheels
spinning literally and figuratively
throwing stones at the sinner
and launching aerials into space
you wish you had bought a ticket
instead burying bodies
not too far from the future
—the insider
the end and beginning
literally
and figuratively
[back to] the future
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the dynasties today
enjoy the technologies
bestowed upon them
—and those bent on ruling
by a clenched fist
turn their pseudo-citizens into
radioactive matter
it matters not what you
can do for your country
now that we’ve become
walking timebombs
repopulating the planet
[by way of decree]
two to three babies at a time
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
this united we stand business
has long gone by the wayside
factions splitting & dividing
by way of simple arithmetic or
asexual science [depending
how you see things]
hypochondriacs are either
mentally and/or physically unwell
incapable of fending themselves
against any creature great or small
extremists resorting to threats
on any given day
more than willing to follow through with them
capitalists & politicians & criminals
work in concert in the background
spawning one conspiracy theory
after the next
worshiping fanatics & lunatics
shoving them into the limelight
all this
as the artists expressively create
interpreting what they care to see
while the historians
sit & wait
for the next piece to fall
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I clear my throat
but am unable to speak
for the words which were meant for you
have grown silent
I try not to wonder where you are
or why you’ve chosen
not to appear in the places
where you are known to gather
try not to put much stock in the fact
that you could be in harm’s way
or in the arms of a lover
every now & then the phone will ring
but I’ve grown accustomed
not to answering it
—it’s just a number I say to myself
and highly unlikely
one of a few I used to know
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I was reading poetry featuring angels
in one form or another
for some reason
they don’t appear to be
as relevant as they used to
whether embedded in the spoken word
or manifested in the latest
and greatest artistry on canvas
spotting one on the street
can be tricky
their divine light & birdlike wings
most likely kept under wraps
whether trailing someone
at the grocery store
or sitting patiently at the local tavern
monitoring a lost soul crying in their beer
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been receiving
messages
that you’re terrified
& you don’t know why
I’ve got this idea
about said messages
& why they come to me
unwittingly
of course
since you’ve been gone
I imagined
you were anything
but terrified
having escaped
one internal war
after another
this idea has to do
with the receiver
that maybe something
is wrong with it
& instead of terrified
you’re actually ecstatic
a newfound constancy
[going on ad nauseum]
ever since electing
to remain silent
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
just because
you’re seeing things
doesn’t mean bad things
are in the offing
the phone rings
& nobody’s there
a reminder of the time
you called a dead man
his voice haunts
you to this day
a larger than life
kind of barreling bravado
daring you sublimely
to leave a message
you tell yourself
what you’re seeing now
has nothing to do
with that voice
& everything to do
with somehow putting
your house in order
october two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 