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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “poetry”

the magic of the magic wand


I’ve always kept the magic wand
under my bed
the one I lifted from the magician
at the TV station when I was
five years old

it was my first trick

I snatched it when all the kids
shuffled their feet forward
in single-file fashion
awaiting like ants on fire
to shake hands with the
man of the hour

I slipped it inside my pant leg
and never looked back
never told one soul

selfishly I kept the magic
of the magic wand to myself

once upon a time on a cloudy day
I wandered into an open field
pointing the wand high into the air

soon I guided the birds of the sky
as best I could
orchestrating their climbs and falls
their motionless glides

over the years I came to understand
the potential of its powers
and it frightened me

for decades I kept her
in darkness
imagining how she must be thriving
storing up energy
put out by endless dark matter
amassing a lethal arsenal of old
but new tricks dying to be shown



march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

simple island


it doesn’t matter what you think
just like it matters not which way I turn
just as long as the confluence of influence
doesn’t intersect anywhere near
this dusty highway bridge

this way leads to my island
shared by a selective group of misfits
who understand on a higher level
what it’s like to thrive off the beaten path
and stay happily and simply hidden





march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

behind closed doors


golden skeleton key
wrapped around your neck
designed to unleash spontaneity
while keeping the monsters at bay
magically vanishes in the feckless wind

inside the madhouse demons slash
and poke with razors and needles
fingerpainting false memories on
invisible doors and lasering
new keyholes with a blazing white light



march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

An Ode to St. Pat


I make it a point to say my mother
Is full-blooded Irish; gives me a right,
I conclude, to drink all I want and curse

With God’s okay. As a half-Irishman,
I have a tendency to admire women
With full breasts and the wherewithal

To say whatever is on their minds—
All the while knowing I can read
Their minds like a leprechaun.

Of course my magic is limited within
My own linen, an all too familiar feeling
That is seeded by love and mistaken

For thoughts that are all too common.


nineteen ninety-six
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

to the queen’s rescue


court jester hoists me up
far enough
my hands grasping the bow
feet skimming along the bark
stepping vertically until
finding myself in seated position
like a fisherman

from there I cast my line
past the edge
hook motioning like a pendulum
butterfly bait caught in
capillary branches
fluttering and struggling
to belabor a million breaths

crawling out on bloodline branch
the fate of coin weighs
heavily upon a commoner’s quest
either flipping and falling
straight to the ground
or forever hailed as the
queen’s guardian angel


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march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

lost in space


you make me feel this big she said
eyes squinting
thumb and forefinger
an inch away from her nose

walking taller than usual
she exited the stage like someone
who knew exactly
where she was heading

as open minds followed
her every footstep
my mind traveled far inside
that imaginary space
she had just recited





march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

the rhyme inside us


wandering through the orchard
I picked a fresh rhyme
held her loosely in my hand

arriving back to the house
I opened my palm
found the rhyme cold and lifeless

rocking her inside my arms
I quietly breathed
healing words into her core

slowly her color returned
her skin unwrinkling
newfound rhythm filled the air

quickly I composed a poem
with water and vase
the rhyme inside blossoming



march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

time and again


I keep those long-lived regrets
wrapped tight and away from the light
placed in the deep freeze
the furthermost corner of my mind

those days sitting on the cold tiled floor
gluing back together eggshells are no more
replaced by looking around and
seeking light emanating from
every single living thing

relaxed by warm shadows lengthening
from the fading summer’s sun
I imagine things have a way of working out
if we only allow impending events
to unfold as nature intended

from the seed to the stem to the beauty
blossoming from the light of day
we capture alive the fleeting moments
forever freezing them time and time again



march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

the ides of march is near


they say march can be a lion
some say she’s gentle like a lamb
I say she’s no different
than I’ve ever known her
all my years living in this land



march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

I know it when I see it


your desire for beauty
is lost
in your bouts of hatred for anything
you can’t comprehend
or attempt to understand
forcing yourself
to react uncontrollably instead of
pausing for reflective thought

I wished I had never taken you
that day they forced you
out of the museum
your legs kicking
and arms flailing
repeatedly shouting that picasso
was nothing but a chauvinistic pig



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

trapped inside this city of mine


I am a stranger in my own land
cast aside like stale eye candy
wrapped in my own shame

I sit half-naked on the curb
a stick in my hand
drawing circles in the dirt
and wondering
who will save me this time

if only I had taken the ho chi minh trail
with those crazy americans
back in sixty-seven
my misery would have exploded into
millions of pieces
and I would now be looking down
on the wonders of the world



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

crossing over to life


I had no idea I crossed over to life
that day you set me free from
centuries of rest

you said I was a sleeping giant
but I only saw myself
as uncharged atoms
floating randomly through darkness

standing at the center of attention
you raised your hands
and opened them upward
towards the sun
delivering unto the gods
the light that was once my life



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

shelter in the city


an old top hat tumbles
down an urban alleyway
one gray wintry night
a single boot and smile
stopping it in its tracks

held beneath a streetlamp
scratches appear in the
faded charcoal felt
each crooked line a story
in and of itself

silvery lining holds imaginary
tales of happenstance
and midnight waltzes
murmuring like a seashell
untouched for centuries

gloveless fingers slide across
bent brim collecting
snowflakes and glances from
all the homeless eyes
seeking cover for the night



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

cry for the badman


the bad man could care less
about fingers pointed
in his general direction
could care less
when blamed for the sun
not shining
or the dark clouds
not forming
when all anyone really wanted
was a little rain falling down



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

I walk alone


moderation is but a stranger
he thought
sitting on a park bench
and feeding the pigeons
bread of life meant to last
the entire winter

somewhere down the road
everything became all or none
as those earthly habits
siphoned off the fuel
that once powered his
beautiful thoughts

the very idea of divorcing
such influential forces
from his daily rituals
sent his mind tumbling
deeper into the fray

knowing there could never be
one final straw
he walked along the river alone
his destructive tendencies
seemingly out of sight





february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

slow motion


an inside energy aspires foreign
motivation
to locate new places for
cool isolation
working on remedies
to century-old habits

inside this allusion the mind’s
eye flits
like a butterfly
along winding stone steps
digressing into a deepening
pool of true change

even while away the doubts remain
false distractions replace
memories of sure
familiar space

progression continues on time
unchanged
the path homing around
new worlds
unfolding alien landscapes
and welcomed perils

incomplete thoughts bring
incomplete conclusions
halting
progressive forward movements
in favor of slow motion replays



february two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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