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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

29 Jan 2020

I’m much obliged


thirty minutes and counting down
how in the hell can they say
that’s all that’s left
especially knowing the fire
has just begun

is it me or is it everyone I know
[whether dead or alive]
needs to put their two cents in
every chance they get
as if to say “I told you so”

well yes I answer rhetorically
I never did imagine I’d
get out of this place alive
but I’m much obliged
knowing you’ve been
waiting for me all this time




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
28 Jan 2020
2 Comments

Partly to mostly cloudy


The groundhog checked into the bed
and breakfast on January 31st

The year was twenty twenty
and the owner thought he looked
familiar but couldn’t quite
put her finger on it

Perhaps you’ve seen me
on the big screen
the groundhog conjectured
tipping his cap as he ambled up the stairway
suitcase in tow and lilliputian tail waving

Oh one more thing
the lady of the house called out
how long will you be staying
with us Mister Murphy
you know you’re welcome here
as long as you please
she said smiling
her hands clasped together

That is so kind of you Madame
I suppose it all depends
upon this Pennsylvania weather
but to be sure
it could be as long as six weeks




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , ,
27 Jan 2020

better run thru the jungle


february is on my mind
but she’s nowhere in sight
pretend morning fog
whispers in my ear
you’ve got no place to go

so I curse the winds
stuff suffocating thoughts
inside my pockets
telling myself
one day I’ll see the light

I keep waking up
in the middle of the night
trees burning brightly
firefighters fighting
for a clear path out




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
26 Jan 2020
4 Comments

see me fall


never in a million years
was I supposed to survive the fall
plummeting from twenty thousand feet
arms like wings and widespread
gradually gaining control
slowly descending in sweeping circles
miraculously transforming
right before your very eyes




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged ,
25 Jan 2020
5 Comments

in this sacred place


temperatures hovering around zero
for a good ten days now
it’s mid january and we’re so ready
to walk on ice

you don’t have to go out too far
these days to touch the sky
it’s all about augering through
letting the water breathe again
one little inspiration at a time

there’s nothing here to miss
except a warmer sun
and that southern breeze
the kind that keeps the raptors
from circling lower and lower

with each catch we do a little dance
and pass around the flask
perhaps like they once did
some five hundred years ago
in this sacred place




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Fishing, Poetry and tagged , , ,
24 Jan 2020
5 Comments

this quiet earth


it used to be so much louder
back when I swore
everything was going to be just fine
holding you in my arms
wiping away the tears

now there is mostly silence
and selective memories
planting flowers
or shoveling the walks
welcoming visitors near and far
no matter the season
or time of day

I heard the earth was shaking
tremendously
half a world away
I could only imagine you were
there among the survivors
trying to put the pieces
back together




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
23 Jan 2020
7 Comments

when the wind is so strong


you ask me where I’ve gone
and I say I’ve always been here
even after passing on

I’m more than pretending I’m this
perennial probability
though sometimes I skip a year
and it is then you momentarily
forget all about me

don’t worry I say
I’ve not gone anywhere
always have I been both below
and above the earth
sometimes in full bloom
sometimes scattering seeds
sometimes fast asleep

when the wind is so strong
making you wonder if it’s just air
brushing up against your cheek
that is when you should think again




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
22 Jan 2020
2 Comments

Those cold November days


I heard we lost the war again
when will we ever learn
from what I can tell probably never
not as long as the profits keep rolling in

Back in the old neighborhood
kids come and kids go
each generation playing with
weapons just as lethal as the next
most living to tell their stories
precious few never coming home again

When we return year after year
we don’t have a lot to say
though we all know what happened
out in the fields
will always feel like it was yesterday




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged ,
21 Jan 2020
4 Comments

the river’s many voices


let us pretend we are starting from scratch
that the sun has yet to reveal its brilliancy
rising above the ageless sea on a cloudless morning
    as if the world itself is being reborn
    free from the exploitation of the past

sudden happiness appears out of thin air
echoing through the valley of the mountains
promising change after years of inner turmoil
    grey thoughts giving way to new ideas
    like old songs playing in a new light

I often wonder about those inevitable days
will it be like floating peacefully down the river
its many voices gradually turning into one
    plainly speaking to me for the first time
    the drawbridge opening on command




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
19 Jan 2020
4 Comments

by land or air or sea


it’s never too late to change things up
perfectly fine to stop in your tracks
saying it’s high time to go another way

direction means less than motion itself
be it inward or westward or skyward
whether carving a new path
or repaving a once-abandoned one

when asked the spiritless question
where you see yourself over time
favor companionship over destination




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged ,
18 Jan 2020
6 Comments

picture perfect saturday


children stretched across the library lawn
books selected from wooden crates
spotted randomly throughout the area
beach blankets spread out here and there
little ones sitting and reading to themselves
or out loud in small groups
the mid-morning sun shining brightly
across the green expanse
saturday morning visitors walking
in and out of the main doors
not a soul saying a word



january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
17 Jan 2020

another intervention


we were rehabbing under the bridge
swapping needles and day old bread
keeping the fire alive despite
the dampness in the air

there’s hardly any signal down here
but we had no problem
dialing in songs for the deaf
one rock classic after another

I hadn’t seen my sweetie in weeks
but word on the street says
she’s got to get me into her life
long before the next intervention




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
16 Jan 2020
4 Comments

what comes around


days getting longer
mid-morning colder than the day before
pedestrians walking briskly
hands stuffed inside pockets
inaudible words escaping into the air

breathe baby breathe
there’s never been a better time to be alive
everyone knows it can’t be
this cold for that much longer
here take my electric flannel blanket

it’s true we both know
the rains will again return like clockwork
washing away what remains
recalling strange familiarity
perhaps starting the final fateful season




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged ,
15 Jan 2020
5 Comments

one-way ticket


I don’t care where you’re from
we’re all temporarily visiting
foreigners in our own little world
or traveling extensively abroad

whether by land or sea or air
we’re randomly cast together
unchosen companions integrated
into an unlikely community
a single entity
be it aboard a bus or ship or plane

departures and arrivals taking place
morning noon and night
loved ones sitting next to strangers
sadistic gamblers laying odds
which ones make it home alive




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
14 Jan 2020

casting lots from down below


I’ve been waiting for you to die
for far too long
but now here I am on my own deathbed
just as I had feared
you arriving out of the blue
and looking down at me
the last sight I’m ever going to see

I ask myself what went wrong
all these years wasted
accumulating chopsticks & stones
and buttons & bottle caps
regretting why
I never turned them
into my own trademark piece of art

already they’re talking about who will
take over my room
dozens of rats in the basement
smoking cigars
and throwing weighted dice
some whispering & some yelling
come seven come eleven




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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

filling my not so little cherry box


you kept things from us
for so many years
since the day you were born
I undoubtedly suppose
crafty and full of light
mysterious and joyously dark
constantly stashing away things
bits and pieces of yourself
you knew would one day be found

all these years having since passed
and still I’m filling the box
you made me with
not-so-accidental artifacts
periodically found in the most
unexpected places
leaving me to imagine
whether or not
you ever left us in the first place




january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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