do not confuse my words with reality
they are conjured at night while my eyes
are rapidly interpreting current events
sometimes seizing the moment
like a champion in the ring
other times adrift at sea
neither lost nor found
but diligently tracking familiar stars
eventually finding my way back home
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the more populated we become
the more dangerous are the streets
all kinds of people packing heat
be they good or bad or indifferent
I don’t own a gun and I’m beginning
to wonder if that’s a good idea
thinking the older I get
the more vulnerable I’ve become
please don’t get me wrong
even though it’s a sad state of affairs
many positive things are happening
inside cities both large and small
but in the meantime here I am
living in the present moment
pretending the problem isn’t mine
as I go about my daily life
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
living in the present
yes I get that who doesn’t
taking in the sights and sounds
as if you’re seeing the world
around you each and every day
for the very first time
but alas what challenges
the present creates
especially when piecing
together past and future events
defining and redefining
perceptions and realities
not to mention those ever elusive
dream interpretations
so here you are sitting
at an outdoor cafe
alone or perhaps with a
real or imagined friend
living in the moment as they say
never pulling back or pushing forward
somehow knowing every single word
to every single song streaming
out into the open air
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I keep looking around
wondering when everyone
will wake up from the dead
and get back on with their lives
from what I understand
they’re still putting out live music
on streaming television
the kind where you can
stomp your feet and sing
right along with the band
weatherman says things
aren’t looking so bright
along the eastern shoreline
but we have our eyes cast
on the western horizon
where the sun perpetually sets
somehow we managed
to find ourselves on the same page
bags packed and fleet refueled
next stop isle of rhythm and blues
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
self-imposed imprisonment
sometimes that’s the way to go
censoring yourself so to speak
all for the good of your own cause
high winds swept opened the gates
the dogies suddenly giving chase
out in the open and light on their hooves
far away from the slaughterhouse
for whatever reason you remained
shackled behind shuttered doors
digging into the dirt and burying
the same old bone time and again
having managed to escape the knife
you failed at living outside the box
tap tap tapping your own inner self
praying one day you’ll be heard
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
third world angels wrap themselves
around the loneliest of children
god ever placed on earth
they amble these ancient streets
and back alleys virtually unseen
admiring the crumbling architecture
as the children somehow fall fast asleep
jet fighters crisscrossing the frozen skies
reminding everyone that this time
nothing will be different
come daybreak birds sing and angels weep
opening their wings and knowing
in a naturally universal way
that this place in time
will be neither the first nor the last
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
with earth day fast approaching
how cannot images of
cosmic collisions cross my mind
planets spinning
dramatically out of control
elsewhere within the milky way
astrologically speaking
the local gods continue
to reconsider scientific law
the orion arm their local playground
occasionally bringing
mother nature to her knees
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
white swans on the lake
united as a collective or afloat
as solitary souls
spotted here and there
like triangular sails at a standstill
soft and steady raindrops
pelleting the reflective surface
all around them
soon all daylight will be gone
and I will have exhausted my stay
an unfamiliar melancholy
sinking in as replacement lights
emerge one by one
leaving me wondering
how long the swans will remain
after I’m gone
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
people ask me how she’s doing
I say I’ve no idea where she’s been
not since turning off the lights
and saying goodbye
people ask me where she’s hiding
I tell them I believe she’s in full sight
somewhere far from the city lights
her eyes most likely smiling
people ask me how I’m doing
I say I’m doing just fine
walking the streets at night
and singing a brand new song
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the intensity is high in these
surroundings
but I play it cool by taking drugs
designed to keep
my blood pressure in check
I’m not supposed to be here
I tell them
but they process me nonetheless
handing out one of those
restaurant beepers that flashes red
when my table is ready
the longer I’m here the more attention
I seem to get
and when I tell them a second time
there’s been a mistake
they chortle and nod and strap me in
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I sit in exaggerated silence
corner lamp dimly lit
open book by my side
it’s a story about a spanish
painter addicted to opioids
a novella really
with flowery words
and beautifully naked models
who come and go at their leisure
I had to put the book down
because it reminded me of my own
missteps and consequences
how it led to this very moment
sitting in exaggerated silence
while outside early april rains
continue to fall torrentially
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how can it be that you’re with me
every step of the way
even though you’re nowhere
near the vicinity
the roadmap in my pocket
changes constantly
and though I’ve been tempted
on multiple occasions
to pitch it out the window
I continue to spread it out
finding new ways
to reach same old places
[the best roadmap is one
that can be folded
many different ways]
soon spring will become summer
and the summer sun
will recharge my batteries
getting me back on the
road to recovery
your spirited old self
back in the proverbial saddle
guiding me turn by turn
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s been 16+ months since
he last set foot on earth
found dead in an alley
in the 500 block of 10th street
according to the medical examiner
cause of death was gunshot wound
what kind of gun though
she did not say
but it had to be one
that fits inside your glove
though discovered in the early
morning hours
chances are he never did
take a breath past midnight
the moon at the time waxing crescent
most likely witnessing
every single step
even with one eye closed
it matters not (or maybe it does)
why it’s taken this long
to find the killer
depending upon your point of view
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
in the dark in alexandria
chasing an illusion
from one continent to the next
this city is far from dead
and inhaling its past is intoxicating
no matter the time of day
greeted by angels at midnight
I’m allowed to dock and disembark
a foreigner without a guest pass
I say tell them I’ll barely be seen
walking their sleepless streets
as if back in new york city
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
where oh where have you been
my darling April
or shall I say is it really you
hiding like a lion behind the bush
who will remind me not to be fooled
by your bad intentions
and steer clear the lesser path
alluringly lined by red red roses
how I wonder when your teardrops
will fall again
washing away recent memories
abruptly cold and uncompromising
where oh where have you been
my fleeting April
won’t you abandon your wild ways
and promise me you’ll stay awhile
april two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there’s nothing mysterious about your
inner instincts
how they sometimes take complete
control of your thought pattern
and subsequent actions
leaving you wondering in the end
exactly how you got from
point A to point B
in a matter of mere milliseconds
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 