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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “poem”

27 Dec 2021

a prophet is born


where did you come from little girl
and how long did you dwell in the darkness
before making a new appearance

your thoughts are not yet your own
they’re transitioning from a predecessor
you do not consciously know

how quickly you’ll learn to retool
building bridges & staircases to heaven
all in less than a lifetime

real change is of the essence
though you inhale & exhale effortlessly
knowing this time will be different





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
26 Dec 2021
2 Comments

the gathering


the spirits in the apple orchard
gathered after dusk
one by one placing fallen apples
into their wicker baskets

it was a moonless night
and the children in the farmhouse
were looking out their bedroom window
mesmerized at the faintest of light
flickering amongst the trees





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
25 Dec 2021

the truth is like water


there is a path not as well worn
as it ought to be
having gradually become overgrown
by nature herself
camouflaging a once prevalent truth

having stumbled upon it
sickle in hand & spirit in thought
you’re drawn toward the babble of the stream
where the truth continues to slip
through the fingers of most





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
24 Dec 2021

and on the seventh day


I could have had religion
but I wasn’t born that way


imagining unable to give life
no longer a god
the ending materializing

but that’s not how the story goes
perhaps it’s all the simplicities
that makes it so complicated

children are raising their hands
to be taken into space
away from a place
that maybe makes sense
one out of every seven days





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 Dec 2021

hello my name is superhuman


an aging population is part of the problem
eating wheaties & living past one hundred

an angry convention fuels uncertainty
airing grievances via intimidation & violence

younger generations delay procreation
eventually giving birth to superhuman babies

though the past has become irreconcilable
the future points to a near impossible

speed bumps along the way are but asterisks
on the maps of galactic superhighways





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
22 Dec 2021

Adjusting the Clock in Boulder Colorado


I saw a headline online
about the world spinning faster
than it did a mere fifty years ago

A scientist was quoted as saying
at this rate the atomic clock
may have be adjusted by a leap second
sometime in the years ahead

I’m not quite sure about this time thing
having relevance while we exist
and irrelevant after we pass

A leap second seems like such
an improbable pause
one that I’ll likely never forget
even after I’m long gone





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
21 Dec 2021
2 Comments

vagrancy


a foreigner with wings
surveying the land
the upper air icy cold
crystalized by the sun

they say the invader
is merely a wanderer
having arrived in peace
& perhaps to die here





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
20 Dec 2021
5 Comments

an army of caterpillars


there’s not much room for error
said the butterfly to her queen

in the parlor the joker scratched
all the lotto tickets to no avail
then checked himself into the clink

the broken-hearted jack
kept mostly to himself
while the other three preferred
to spend their time at the firehouse
enjoying a few ales and playing
euchre or pinochle
joking about the king of spades
who put himself in charge of training
an army of caterpillars



december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
19 Dec 2021

the dream interpreter


every time I come to some sort of conclusion
the next riddle presents itself
and I am forced yet again to deal with
this thing called life

when the next riddle presents itself
I tend to sleep in
using my dreams to my advantage
writing them down in fits & starts
and taping them to the wall
pacing back & forth
sometimes a forefinger
placed on my lower lip
other times with hands on hips

not everything is solvable
at least not in this lifetime
where dungeons & flying dragons
plastered on tear-stained walls
are as real as death itself





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
18 Dec 2021

Deputized


I took this job with the FBI
or the CIA
depending on the time of day

I was fresh out of college
and the credentials they gave me
were pockmarked
on my cheeks

It came to the point
where my friends confessed
they could see me
from a mile away
but couldn’t quite make out
who I was

As for my part
it wasn’t hard getting them to talk
about ice cream & conspiracies
after all
I had been taught to read
between the lines





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
17 Dec 2021
2 Comments

toying with infinity


a change of scenery
isn’t that what it’s all about
four or five seasons
rotating in & out of your life
commingling &
at times digressing
fast-forwarding supersonically
daydreaming & transcribing
without actually going
anywhere in particular





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
16 Dec 2021
2 Comments

the messenger’s offspring


they wore shoes with wings
these golden innocents
as mystical as they are mythical
earthbound & heaven sent for
reasons unknown
bringing joy to a few
and comfort to the many

time doesn’t seem to matter
once you are included
in their world
one in which the only mystery
is how their existence
ever came into play





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
15 Dec 2021

repent & be saved


people are amassing at the river
from all quadrants of the city

blood has been shed
for far too long
& local organizers who go by the motto
‘enough is enough’
have been picking up speed of late

just when the tipping point appeared
to have been reached
ordained & lay ministers
could be found twenty-four seven
wading in the shallow waters
baptizing those who wish to repent





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dogma, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
14 Dec 2021
2 Comments

the fatality of one


I had this idea in my head
and I had to repeat it over & over again
so I wouldn’t lose it
and then someone died
on the highway
and I was there
to stand witness
waited until the ambulance
left with the body
making me realize the original idea
had gone away with the lights

there was a time when we
were inseparable
how easy it was to get things done
inspiration set on autopilot
creations unfolding
one after the other
long before that fatal crash
before the forces
that are always at work
decided tonight would be the night
and tomorrow would be no more





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
13 Dec 2021

counting down the days


I have reached a new beginning
and fear I’ve become the lesser of two evils

like a retired knight I’ve turned in my mace
and my sword and my suit of armor

living out the remainder of my days
on a pig farm or second floor studio apartment

on the edge of town where petty thieves
carry switchblades and take what they will

I have been reduced to a number
ticking down from one hundred and one

I sit in the darkness in the farmhouse
or second story efficiency

waiting for the sun to shed some light
on how exactly I had gotten here or there





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
12 Dec 2021

for reasons I can’t explain


having been gone
I listen for my song
in faraway places
in my dreams I search
for days on end
upon awakening reality sets in
and I start another day
without my song

it’s as if I’m gradually
losing my sight
my peripheral vision
narrowing day by day
the song I once knew by heart
nowhere to be found
taken away from me
for reasons I can’t explain





december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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