a girl is giving birth
sounds from her inner self
brand new & beautiful
like those of a songbird
she breathes like she was
taught to breathe
mending her own broken heart
so that others may live
charity knows no bounds
this she firmly believes
finding second chances
in the eyes of another
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
a bark woke me up
I lumbered down the stairs
half naked
and there was this cat
on the other side of the storm door
by the time the rising sun
tapped me on the shoulder
I recalled how the dog
chased the cat
to the dark side of the moon
as I was tying my shoes
I had no recollection
of the overnight rain storms
fairly certain I failed yet again
to attain REM sleep
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
complicating the situation
by pretending tomorrow doesn’t exist
that the eyes
when studied on a molecular level
reveals far more
than any absolute truth
at an early age
the children were taught
the fine art of voodoo doll making
experimenting with various
fabrics & stuffing & buttons
paying particular attention to the
details within the eye
there is possibility in effort
& craftsmanship in magic
a potent combination
reserved for those willing
to practice the art of sight
other than their own
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
1
some assembly required
is what the ushers
told the animals
as they escorted them
into the amphitheatre
seating the smaller ones
in the front rows
& going from there
2
the sky was all lit up
thanks to a couple greek gods
brightening the flora
that flourished
on the outer edges of the world
abundant stardust
keeping them well fed
3
this story’s been told before
how a man
removed the heart of another
offered it to the sky
[still beating]
& none of the animals
looked away
4
the skies opened
as if to say there is nothing
to look at
the show is over
be gone be gone
5
there was no place to go
& the rains wouldn’t stop
all the animals in the world
were left bewildered
wondering why man chose
to squander apparent intelligence
6
it was supposed to be
a day of rest
instead the oceans were on fire
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they busted the enemy
into bits & pieces
piling some into stacks
tossing others into bins
boy soldiers starting fires
in the alleyways & the woods
talking amongst themselves
how peace is a 60/40 proposition
cabinet makers started putting
out heart-shaped boxes
sold to the military at below cost
they say the casualties
have declined since the rising
of the blue moon
a pseudo cease-fire
a sleight of hand opening
& closing once colorful eyes
burial goers breaking out in song
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there’s a monster
feeding on the airwaves
sublimely consuming reflections
lazily drifting its way
they keep saying
don’t go there
keep your thoughts to yourself
or the monster will consume them
& pull you further in
in the airwaves there are roses
of every living colour
tempting you with their temporary beauty
while the monster
panting like a panther
pounces on your every lost thought
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it doesn’t take long
to move things around
trashing all the obvious objects
leaf-blowing the floor
from one corner to the next
one time two times three
lastly valeting the vehicles
out onto the street
the love van backs up
contents emptying themselves
into the garage
anything needing power plugged in
keyboards & guitars
drums & cymbals all assembled
neighborhood curiosos
beckoned from their comfort zones
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it was her birthday the other day
so I sent her some feathers
it wasn’t exactly an inside joke
but she was most appreciative
we were supposed to hang low
instead took a trip elsewhere
two tickets to nowhere
though we were far from alone
I kept having to make changes
turning feathers into stones
stones into double roses
with hardly a place to grow
there was water everywhere
inside this landlocked nation
cleansing all the feathers & stones
continually accumulating
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s been twenty-three years now
imagining the mice
stirring out back
once the fireball is nearly extinguished
everything changes once the cat
is let out of the bag
the great horned owl looking on
stealthily
contemplating who may stay
& who must go
it’s scarier in late october
than early may
but only by a fraction
there are many things buried
in & around this place
some of them stone cold dead
& others still quite alive
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I try to remember
the lost dreams from childhood
baseball & butterflies
how the lady in the shoe
in the kitchen
screamed at all her children
(but I was not one of them)
all of us pretending
knowing exactly
where we came from
it was the fifteenth
maybe fourteenth century
and mother was making mead
in the cellar
me as a toddler shadowing
her every move
quietly asking where on earth
I could have come from
and ever since
never asking again
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
those lines in the palms
of your hands
know everything
be careful who sees them
lest you become
exposed for all the world to see
past actions predicting
future events
by any ordinary reader
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we’ve not decided who should stay
and who needs to go
there’s much politicking going on
in the backroom &
the alleyways
while deep inside
the singers & the dancers
relentlessly work their magic
the strategists were called away
hours ago just as the
local brewery rolled in
another dozen kegs
word has it nobody is really
calling the shots anymore
while white men in the map room
throw axes & hatchets at
larger than life bullseyes
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the lightning abandoned the night
giving way to ashes falling like snow
white covering a fading darkness
like a shadow losing its life
there is no memory of yesterday
only the clarity of today
of tomato bisque & baked cod
served in the center free of charge
lines kept getting longer
in this ever complicated nation
interconnected with the underground
& all things afloat or suspended
lifted from grief & whisked away
consciousness evolved
into a perennial sunflower
its seeds grounded in the multiverse
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I dreamt I had wings
its feathers in various
shades of grey
stretching them to the limit
as I stood tall atop
the empire state building
in the dream I sprung
from the ledge in a swan dive
crashing back to earth
in slow motion
the eyes behind my head
madly moving rapidly
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
give me a burst of energy
so I may repair your smile
I will unroll the red carpet
and hold out my hand
taking your photograph
as you approach
one step at a time
neither quickly nor slowly
how it seems the whole world
is watching & wondering
imprecisely how far
are the stars from here
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I lost you in the fray
breaking away like a lake trout
flying above the surface
& freeing herself from the hook
I felt how you kept looking for me
even though I was gone
having been swept away by the tide
ten or twenty moons ago
as far as the unfinished work
is concerned
pay it no nevermind
for eventually
it is likely
to resolve itself
may two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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