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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

20 Aug 2020

not guilty


I heard she’d contracted the virus
& it wasn’t just hearsay
was told she drove 80 miles to Waterloo
to find out if it was true

god knows how long that will take

we may never know the results
having packed our bags
heading in the opposite direction
cell phones no longer working
& no destination in mind
just a strange idea that being on the move
is somehow better than doing nothing at all

each time we stop for supplies
I casually pick out meaningless postcards
compile them into the glovebox
foolishly thinking one day
I’ll turn them into something special


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
19 Aug 2020

but in reality it never really was


my dream is your reality
revisiting things that could have been
unable to change the course of events
but getting plenty of food for thought
be they apples or bananas
growing abundantly from utility poles
repurposed so many years ago

this place is not what it used to be
but in reality it never really was
& the minute you think
you’ve got everything figured out
something stranger comes marching on
making it perfectly clear
you’re no longer the new kid in town


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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18 Aug 2020

get away


I know Tracy has access to a fast car
but that’s not gonna make it for me
I’m thinking there must be a better way

nonetheless she’s in the background
singing the same song in a different key
comforting me when I need it most
reminding me there’s always another way

yeah I’ve got a job that pays all the bills
but I’m thinking working for a living
can get you only so far
that driving a fast car is fun for awhile
unless of course you can make it fly




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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17 Aug 2020

smoke if you got ‘em


he reminded me of bukowski
or lebowski
I can’t remember which
disheveled & maybe talking to himself

but there he was waltzing
through the aisles in his bathrobe
or batman cape
or some such in-or-out-of-fashion thing
dangling a loaf of wonderbread
holding onto a few precious items

somehow he snuck in first
at the wine & spirits checkout
me with my twelve pack
& he with his precious selections
(plus two bags of ice in the minicart)
annoyingly amusing with all that
fumbling for payment options
& mumbling via chit chat about local
sports & the art of social distancing
numerous times checking front left
& back right pockets
the hair on his chinny chin chin
growing grayer by the second

august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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16 Aug 2020

it’s just a minor thing


it’s been a long time coming
but people are finally reading you
slowly figuring things out in their
own weird way
reiterating yes yes yes
to whatever more you have to say

taking the first train to mexico
somehow became the next reality
thoughts & words left unspoken
dreams suspended
at least for the time being
worlds spinning & maybe colliding

august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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15 Aug 2020
9 Comments

we’ve got tonight


offline & uninfluenced by current events
we listen to old vinyls on a powerless night

generator running in every other backyard
sounding like lawn mowers with no place to go

seems like tomorrow can’t get here soon enough
but then again there’s nothing wrong with tonight


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
14 Aug 2020

slow dancing in my peripheral


the power is off
& all the doors are locked
baby’s fast asleep upstairs

it’s a bit scary tonight
make no mistake
I’m even a little worried
about keeping two candles burning
two battery powered fm radios
on either side of the room
playing damn near in unison
like two old lovers
slow dancing in my peripheral


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
13 Aug 2020

redirecting local traffic


how far can you open your mind
one in which expands & contracts
at your non-verbal commands
like some non-conformist guru

I’ve never been challenged
quite like this before
diffusing so many noises
coming from so many directions
tunneling them into a single sound
traveling directly toward me
at thousands of miles per hour

I used to think everything moved
from the west to the east
just like supersonic jet streams
& old familiar trade routes
ones in which you carved yourself
long before you were born again




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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12 Aug 2020

reading braille


once the war
was so many years old
the children picked up braille
& began reading again
fairly easily


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
11 Aug 2020

smoke if you got ‘em


I’d smoke if I had ‘em
but I kicked that habit
some twenty years ago
I’m just happy I keep
a little weed stashed away

It seems to me
that one god has never
been this angry
or maybe I’m just being a bit selfish
knowing that they murdered
his only son in brutal fashion
back when everything must have been
a little less complicated




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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10 Aug 2020

straight line winds


straight line winds
is that what you call them
flattening everything in their wake
leaving me & everyone else
without a chance in hell
of making it home before midnight


august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
09 Aug 2020

lying for no good reason


the sun stayed behind
the clouds all day long
but the heat
the heat man
it seems that is all they
wanted to talk about

don’t go out
don’t go out they would say
there’s nothing out there for
anyone anymore
but the fact of the matter remains
they’re all lying
using every single reason
there is in the book

yeah times are changing
but they always do
this much we know
yeah times are changing
and so are you
sometimes one step
& sometimes
ten thousand steps at a time




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
06 Aug 2020

the wick effect


cleaning out the garage
on a hot summer’s day
dealing with near empty bags
of charcoal & oily rags
gasoline cans & a bale of hay
nearly out of sight & mind

breathe in & breathe out
it’s what you do all afternoon
deciding on what gets pitched
& what gets rearranged
all the while contemplating
that first cigarette break




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Aug 2020
2 Comments

starting from scratch


the future was here the day I was born
been working at it ever since
just to keep in step

it doesn’t matter what part of the world
you find yourself
explosions may one day come out of
(the proverbial) nowhere

and suddenly you find yourself
back at the beginning
unable to explain to yourself
(or to anyone who may be listening)
how one major blast
can easily wipe out
multiple decades past




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
04 Aug 2020

fueling the fire of creation


we carved him out of an old cedar
all that remained that is
all eight feet tall of him

we kept his arms by his sides
& his chin slightly lifted
his abandoned eyes looking westward
forever waiting for the seven o’clock sun

as we worked together diligently
using chainsaws & assorted knives
the children scrambled feverishly
around his root-like feet
crafting creatures out of clay

after nightfall the squirrels & sparrows
rabbits & foxes & owls & porcupines
[just to name a few]
burned inside the oven of creation
the cedar stretching ever taller
toward a night sky that has no end




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Nature, Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
02 Aug 2020

home on a sunday


it’s six-thirty local time
& I’ve exhausted
all my free passes
having encircled the globe
these past forty-eight hours
arriving back home
unceremoniously
& empty-handed

exactly what I was expecting
I can’t begin to say
but this time I had a feeling
something would be different
like happening upon
a door or a window
only I would be able to open

but no such egress
was in the offing
& now I’m back to the only reality
that I’ve ever known
planning on accumulating points
for more free passes
thinking next time
things will end differently




august two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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