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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

12 May 2020

leap year


I’m hoping this is the worst case scenario
but I must present it as it is
or at least how I see it

for you see I’ve taken some liberties
in my own projections
my modeling not exactly scientific
but probably not too far from reality

I study your face as you take it all in
and I worry like I’ve never worried before
thinking to myself chances are slim to none
we can get back to where we were
just a few short months ago

the older I get the more I realize
I know less & less than the average man
and though I try to pretend otherwise
the only thing I know for certain
next year will be one day shorter




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
11 May 2020

from one medium to the next


I’m in a time capsule
in some shape or form
having forgotten
the definition of patience
I unwittingly await
like a still life beneath
a whitewashed canvas

someone must know
where I’ve gone
be it buried
among the acacias
or stowed beneath
a floorboard on the corner
of oak & division streets

I used to walk alone
on land and on water
singing along
to my favorite songs
bouncing off radio towers
eventually terminating
somewhere in the clouds




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
10 May 2020

reworkings


you’ve been there
how many times now
countless
countless times
starting way back when
when the birds
first learned to sing
and someone
somewhere
invented lemonade

it seems we’re
just starting
to rework the garden
shredding the soil
and germinating
new seeds
the ones we found
in the far corner
at the market
price tag missing

it’s incredibly easy
to get lost
no matter
where you are
no matter
if you’re falling off
the edge of the earth
or spinning madly
inside a top
with endless energy




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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09 May 2020
2 Comments

turn by turn navigation


what should we do when the lights go out
do you remember that one time
[of course you do]
clouds coming & going as they please
each time a slightly different
version of its former self

we’ve made our way to this town before
where the five-way stop is unmarked
[and that one time]
we took the wrong turn & knew it
but we kept driving north
until the road was no more

lights burn out while others reappear
it’s like a reflexive movement
[we’ve talked about it]
designed to keep you experimenting
road trips without maps
& nights begging for light




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
08 May 2020
3 Comments

folklore


we heard about the impending frost
and so we waited
paralyzed in our own tracks as they say
suddenly afraid to venture away from shelter
wondering what on earth needs watering

the impending doom is measured
by fluctuations in the free trade markets
gurus foolishly focused on their crystal balls
today all wine and roses
tomorrow’s clouds looking like flying monkeys

impending death & taxes matters not
we all know life goes on in one shape or form
& despite interruptions
the fog of uncertainty will one day be lifted
some of us fortunate enough to retell the tale




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
07 May 2020

a cameo appearance


I’d been there before
in some form or fashion
not necessarily déjà vu
not some recurring dream
instead something else entirely
like watching a critically acclaimed film
I’ve seen over & again
for the very first time

that was me
I was looking at
it was always me
or so I’ve come to discover
a spot role in a sleeper masterpiece
an unlit marlboro hanging
from my left hand
or maybe a derringer

what happens next
will become problematic
always the storyline transgressing
into digressive tangents
thinly foreshadowing
the greatest of all falls
at the end all alone & listless
the credits quickly flying by




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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

one million pound piñata


seventy-seven bush elephants
masquerading as one cumulus cloud
slowly trek across the desert sky
bulging like a waxing gibbous

hired archer standing atop zeppelin
back bending backwards
held in place by ropes & pulleys
aiming to deflate the entire herd




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Micropoetry, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
05 May 2020

imagining what’s on the other side


I’ve been working on a new song
combining rock & disco with a little bit of soul

it’s something I picked up
back in the late seventies
when nobody was doing their own thing

it’s like mashing ‘sexual healing’
with ‘seven nation army’
four-on-the-floor bass drum beating madly

if you give it more air & time
it may become a karaoke favorite
celebrated throughout the civilized world

what’s grooved on the b-side however
will forever be a work in progress
always skipping from one place to the next




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
04 May 2020
2 Comments

reading lips & lifelines


I dream & drink too much
sweet dreams from one day
to the next
always someone
taking hold of my shoulders
whispering in my ear
none of this is real

‘why do you always wake me’
repeating under my breath
on my back in the hospital bed
eyes blinking quickly
unfocused and darting up & down
brand new pair of adidas
[cool blue with white stripes]
perfectly placed in the far corner

for some reason
it’s just me & the madman
reporting from the mounted television
lips moving & muted
explaining how the rats of new york city
can run exponentially faster
wearing silk shorts & sneakers




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , ,
03 May 2020

painted desert for sale


I was short
& you gave me some leeway
we were halfway to chicago
when I said I couldn’t go on
I needed to stop whatever it
was we were doing
and try something else

so you pulled into the next oasis
and wished me good luck
my pockets stuffed with
electronic paper goods
& assorted memories

with nothing on the horizon
I sat in the common area
sipping on my free caffè latte
& studying all the faces
slowly beginning to realize
what I truly missed the most
was my painted desert




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
01 May 2020

gasping for air


her heart is racing
easily exceeding one hundred
beats per minute

she came in for a simple procedure
but we’re sending her off to emergency
to get her beating heart
under control

how many specialists does it take
how many second opinions
how many prescriptions

here try this & if that doesn’t work
we’ll give that a try
and if that doesn’t work
take two aspirins
& call me (maybe) in the morning

now she’s stuck in the middle
of the staircase (to heaven)
mostly because there’s no elevator
no contraption she can sit in
conveying her body
from one cloud to the next

in reality they were able
to stop the bleeding
finally took the thing out from her leg

but what about that beating heart
one hundred beats per minute & counting
I mean just how fast
is fast enough




may two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
30 Apr 2020

where there’s a will


how do you find inspiration
in a single word
something universal
yet undefinable
like a child of the sky

she easily escapes you
becoming invisible
in a single word
off skirting the edges
by way of a tailwind

lost to his own devices
he looks inside
discovers compassion
in a single word
the moment passing by




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

30/30 #napowrimo

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29 Apr 2020
4 Comments

little big bang theory


twenty-eight minutes
that’s all that’s left
until all the little things
orbiting around
any celestial goddess
will congeal themselves
into one great big thing
spontaneously spinning itself
out of its routine
thereby making the universe
a little more or less complex
than it already was




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
28 Apr 2020

Chernobyl


After many years had passed
the property (and therefore the estate)
was finally put to bed
but do not be fooled into believing
it was the last chapter of one story
and the beginning of another
and while the truth may never be told
what would transpire afterwards
may best be described
as a continuation of days gone by
for you see the place was originally constructed
from inside the privacy of the forest
and those witnessing its gradual expansion
(from one generation to the next)
were protected from the outside world
and whether seen as a secret society or not
one thing remains
forests will turn into deserts
and deserts will turn into oceans
and disciples of god will become fishers of men
and anything deeded to a human or otherwise
will eventually be returned to its maker




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
27 Apr 2020
2 Comments

changing directions


an uninspired idea germinates
in the back of your mind
probably belonging to someone else
one year or two score
or four hundred years ago

long used to going alone
feet controlling the floor pedals
hands on steering wheel & shifter
someone you once knew
begins singing in the passenger seat

past experiences & premonition
tells you the bulging moon
will soon be rising
and so you pick up the pace
the music getting louder all by itself




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged ,
26 Apr 2020
2 Comments

bringing back to life


all day I sit in silence on the back deck
passing the afternoon away
small block of wood & jack knife in hand

day turns to evening & evening into night
I’ve grown weary from all the whittling
in what has become extended silence

fact is I was not alone & my mind was filled
with multitudes of windchimes & birdsong
& the babbling of the nearby stream
reminding me of all the music I’ve ever loved

when the april shower began to fall
I stood and closed my knife
disappearing in my pants pocket
my recreation resting in my shirt pocket
in sync with the rain & my heartbeat




april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,

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