you’re awakening and fully aware
that you are still here
something inside you sends signals
letting you know
another something inside you
is tugging at your skirt
how was it that you watched me
awaken at the birds’ first calls
studying me as as I blinked
open my blue eyes
everyone else in the dream
determining what is brand new
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I wasn’t sure what I saw
other than the planet earth
for you see I’m circling it
over land & sea
unsure which one of us
is actually moving
observations are obvious
the hurting apparent & real
even from a greater distance
there is this gradual descent
as inevitable as it may be
circling in a much different way
this time hawklike eyes
testing theories of survival
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how many adjectives for the sky
do you keep in your pocket
long written down & folded into
an origami passport
open & closed with your eyes shut so many times
you wonder would it be best
to put them down in braille rather than words
or perhaps translated into countless languages
so when any moment good or bad
spontaneously presents itself
there’s not a chance in hell you will fail
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there’s nothing but thin white air
sweeping through the landscape
an invisible shield if you will
preventing anyone from crossing
to the other side
there are horses and rivers
and brave men & women
breaking past the thin white air
children clinging for dear life
however they may
yes it’s greener & yes it’s bluer
no matter where you run
inner self visualizing the outside
commandeering the thin white air
sending it skyward
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I reach to touch a leaf
just as it separates from the tree
our association drifting apart
before it even begins
what seems like millions
upon millions accumulating
is nothing but a conceptual pile
looking to be jumped upon
the eventual scattering
and complete disappearance
is nothing but a grand illusion
graciously repeating
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how many cowboys do you know
you’d probably be surprised
how they add up
coming in & out of your life over the years
whether on the big or little screen
in real life at the stables or rodeos
road tripping through the northern plains
when I was a kid we played
cowboys & indians
innocence at its worst and finest
getting sunburned under the july sun
your mother unconcerned about skin cancer
or historical facts
palm on face flipping through history books
bored to death in the classroom
listening to cowboy songs on the radio
turning the mundane into romance
the cowboy in the wild wild west
the cowboy in manhattan
the cowboy in hollywood california
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been making & laundering money
for nearly eleven months now
and as they say so far so good
It took nearly just as long to set up shop
but the legwork & overtime efforts
appear to be finally paying off
Running your own business has its pros & cons
[as you may or may not know]
if anything it’s afforded me to travel abroad
where the greenback is wildly accepted
One thing keeping me up at night though
is the eventual transition to a cashless society
forcing me back into the bitcoin mines
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
word on the street says you’ve figured out
where the treasure is hidden
you know the one buried somewhere
in the rocky mountains
so many previous attempts
so many complicated arrests
and five too many deaths
while the streets and the virus
leave us in maddening turmoil
you’re devising your own escape
disappearing like tinkerbell
or some recent lotto winner
along the way you collect items
by way of photograph
human hair & buffalo skull
but the feathered talisman you pocket
just hours before the find
there’s a good chance we’ll never know
who you may or may not be
unless of course you care to wager a guess
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
here we are again flying against the wind
settled safely inside the saucer
we’re going thousands of miles per hour
strapped into our seats like babies
praying we’ll soon arrive at our destination
unharmed from the outside world
where to begin is the universal question
as if the moon & stars were always here
we marvel at the insects & birds & clouds
distractions from accomplishing our mission
where in the end we step out into this world
without bodysuits and without judgment
accepting the miraculous air without fear
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
mushrooms are blooming everywhere
and I’ve not yet fallen asleep
it’s intense out in the fields
stars & supersonic sounds concealing
nearly dead brain waves coming back to life
it’s as if you’ve walked through here before
creating space & carving new paths
careful not to disturb the peace
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
listen to the music
it’s just about everywhere
whether piped in out of thin air
or playing loud & live
right in your own backyard
no matter the time of day
the music attracts
birds & bees & curiosity seekers
traveling distances near & far
to feel what you feel
nobody wants to leave
after all it’s the place to be
where the music never ends
and peace & harmony
has begun to take root
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s neither better nor worse
it simply evolves from one
moment to the next
how it fits inside your head
isn’t anyone’s guess but yours
you can turn down the sound
or blast it past the limit
either way it’s not going anywhere
whether tugging at your sanity
or playing hide-n-go-seek
armies amass on the stage
in full gear & practicing lines
their audience obsolete
the outside world looking in
reworking the script on the run
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
in the ninth count of every seven years
you’re reaching out to the bullgod for some reason
there’s no answer but you keep hitting redial
intent on making a connection for some reason
back in the first cycle you were a one-boy army
protecting your turf & sanity for some reason
it doesn’t matter if anybody understands the lyrics
you always saddle back up for some reason
from fourteen to twenty-one to twenty-eight (etc etc)
you subconsciously regress for some reason
adding & subtracting and multiplying & dividing
thoughts & prayers aren’t enough for some reason
violent explosions shoot molecular pieces into the air
falling down like nuclear snow for some reason
lately you fiddle with tubed televisions & amplifiers
thinking the bullgod is your ticket out for some reason
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we start & we stop & we start again
I mean everyone needs to rest & refuel
before getting back in on the action
it seems like everyone’s wearing masks
either protecting themselves or others
but perhaps for other reasons entirely
big brother capturing the action on video
sometimes from as far away as 5oo miles
meanwhile beyond the cities poppy fields
live & die year after year after year
folding themselves in on cool summer nights
only to reopen come the morning light
june two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
plucking one petal at a time
whispering she loves me
she loves me not
some are red and some are yellow
but none are black & white
outside I hear hesitation & pause
as if the birds are aware of every
single misstep man has ever taken
on the television screen
five o’clock images
are more disturbing than usual
the sound muted
love songs playing inside my head
may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
so I started to say something
but then I stopped
no what
really what were you going to say
I don’t remember
I swear the other day there was something
I needed to tell you
but by the time I saw you I forgot it all
that is until another 12 hours passed by
what
what is it
tell me tell me tell me
I told you I don’t remember
but you just said you remembered 12 hours later
haven’t you been listening
that was forever ago
may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 