in the backyard
all secure by a privacy fence
two boys continue their work
on new and improved old ideas
they’ve done the math
and they’ve completed
the construction
all that’s left is to send
that damn rocket
out into outer space
striking a light
they set the fuse to burn
running away at full speed
their future blazing overhead
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I wanted to converse with you
in your native tongue
but all I could do was listen
and nod and smile
comprehending your every single word
but unable to respond accordingly
you’ve been gone now for what
seems like days or weeks or months
the concept of time incalculable in my mind
retreating back to familiar places
I practice words & phrases
spoken half a world away
painting pictures and
connecting dots from here to there
where words once meant everything
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I don’t know these people
where they came from
or what their mission is
having appeared out of the blue
once winter succumbed to spring
now soliciting sugar and milk
and common knowledge information
as if I was their next door neighbor
how they keep finding me
remains a mystery I care not solve
but find me they do
regardless of my state of mind
whether digging a new trench
or scaling skyscrapers
they appear out of the blue
nearly scaring me half to death
how they ever chose me
haunts my waking days
and eerily dark blue nights
when the weight of my eyelids
become most burdensome
as I whisper beneath my breath
praying to the gods that be
that tomorrow they’ll never find me
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
no I don’t hate you
in fact I don’t know you
know not where you
live or what you stand for
the color of your hair or eyes
the language that you speak
or religion [if any] you practice
no I don’t hate you
fact is I adore you [from
a great distance] like a dream
long ago escaping me
leaving me aching and asking
how can I ever get back
to a place that never was
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I am somebody else today
dressed in clothes
fitting unfamiliarly
sun shining upon me
somehow differently
than the day before
warm and inviting
and encouraging a slight
smile on my face
I am somebody else today
not the person
you met in passing
or shared a meal
or intimate moment
somehow changed entirely
perhaps for the last time
whether it be for the better
or for the worse
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I was told to read
read everything I could get
my hands on
and so that is what I did
getting into the heads
of salinger and faulkner
cather and dickens
shakespeare and chaucer too
eventually progressing
onto the romantics and the beats
memorizing obscure lines
and repeating them in my sleep
until at some unknown point in time
it all came to a standstill
and I was left by the wayside
like a train without a track
or an aeroplane without a runway
like a man without a country
or a singer without a song
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
don’t lose faith she said
[one of her favorite things to say]
your time will come
just you wait and see
to be honest I wasn’t
looking for any time
but I must confess
a little space would do
perhaps a cottage
on the edge of town
or houseboat on the cedar
they’ll be no fishing tomorrow
she reminded me
[and I assented silently]
what with the moon hiding
and the river rising
and so for another night
supper will be limited
a slice of bread lightly toasted
and a glass or two
of monastery wine
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how many times must it start this way
believing you with the benefit of the doubt
all the while knowing fact from fiction
whether wide awake or safely dreaming
two crickets sang in the middle of the night
a melodious sound imitating my breathing
a repetitious shrill subconsciously inviting
it doesn’t take much to awaken me anymore
a touch of the shoulder or kiss on the cheek
oh how I want to believe you are forever near
quietly shadowing me every step of the way
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve so much to say [to say]
but somehow it all remains
bottled up inside
and so I find myself
walking along the shoreline
taking mental notes
and stuffing them inside
glass vessels
sending them off blindly
into the cold [cold] world
there came a time I could
walk on water
and make blind men see
but those days
have come and gone
and I find myself repeating
words and phrases
that once gave me comfort
when our days [and nights]
were so much simpler
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
no stopping us now after coming this far
having broken the cycle and chains of a past
once preventing life from moving forward
why should we wait for death to awaken us
isn’t there more to stars than mere refractions
exactly brought on upon by chain reactions
how many experiences must we accumulate
whether individually or as a collective
before finally realizing all is one in the same
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I told everyone we were married
that you were my wife
that we had met on a rainy night
somewhere in paradise
and it was love at first sight
Although none of this is true
her image forever remains
stamped in my mind
projected on ceilings and walls
as I hopelessly roam
from room to room
in my futile attempts
to bring her back into my life
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
today I shall shed a tear
and attempt this thing
called poetry
a half a world away
you lived
though I swear you were
next door
scratching out words
for all the world to read
one morning
one day
one night at a time
there comes a time
when the bird no longer
tweets her morning song
and is it then you come to realize
we’re no different from one another
no different than the branch
is to the bough
no different than the song
is to the bird
more melodious than ever
lamenting outside
our southern window
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
before silence takes over
your former self
consider conquering it
on your own terms
in your own sweet time
before silence takes over
[the entire world]
consider taming your own
wicked thoughts
rehabilitating them
from feral tangents
into purposeful intentions
worthy of imitating
fear not the silence
towering over your domain
find comfort knowing
she’s been with you
since the very beginning
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
she practices her violin
sitting on the spinet bench
scratching out imperfections
into the midday air
outside it’s raining softly
bookend bay windows
slightly cranked open
letting sounds in and out
the law of attraction
is a two-way street
all the strays standing tall
from the peanut gallery
watching the house favorite
rubbing ankles
with the star of the show
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
who shall we condemn today
and who shall we elevate
picking and choosing
like gods openly playing favorites
how many times must we surrender
until peace reigns on earth
and how many times must our
hearts be tested before
proving our intentions are true
and those gods who willfully
come and go at their leisure
who’s to say they’re not the ones
continually adding fuel to the fire
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’ve been keeping my thoughts
to the slightest of late
hoping to quiet my outer space
while improving the blood flow
giving my inner self a break
from all the distractions
coming at me from all directions
I keep waiting on the chance
for the sun to sing me a new song
one allowing my mind
to retreat into relative ease
keeping my intentions at bay
and my heart center
beating at a bare minimum
march two thousand nineteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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