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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

07 Jan 2017
4 Comments

accepting the air we breathe


the remedy is closer
than you think
though it seems to pass you by
undetected like an unseen
seductive glance

your god is a jealous one
though you’ve learned to accept that
needlessly questioning
her inconsistent suggestions

it would do you well to consider
the road less traveled
next time you set off on foot
clearing the mind
and patiently engaged
for the answer lies
somewhere in the wind



january two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,
05 Jan 2017
4 Comments

look out for that root


it’s awful lonely in this box
but the beauty of it is
you can hear everything

the first thing I’m gonna do
when I break out
is move that hazelnut bush
away from the fence

roots seem to all ball up
and intermingle endlessly
when they got no place to go
but thanks to the spade
nothing ever stays
quite the same
from this season to the next



january two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
04 Jan 2017
6 Comments

undeliverable packages


we’re not expecting any fireworks
this year are we
she yells from the other room

(I think she’s talking to someone
on the goddamn phone again)

why in the hell are you asking about
fireworks I yell back
it’s only january for fuck’s sake

but it’s too late
the package has been delivered
and the driver has gotten away

it’s strange how silence
can be so deafening

it’s difficult to fall into a deep sleep
eyes routinely blinking
like an old film projector
telling silent stories

eventually the movie ends
usually in a whimper
and I slowly reach consciousness
only to discover the time of day

it’s four a.m. and
somewhere I hear a mother crying



january two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Poetry and tagged , , ,
02 Jan 2017
9 Comments

taken to a nearby hospital


the city was on fire
and I was like a lost lamb
roaming past identical houses
hoping the next turn opens up
to a countryside I once knew by heart

they say the nightlife is the best here
where the most beautiful people gathered
to forget the past

but then it was gone in a flash
like a trick of the mind
there you see it
there you don’t
limbs gyrating like an egyptian
eyes mesmerized
believing just about anything

there was a man with a staff
crying out in the city center
where the river divided the land
and though I was perfectly lost
I heard him clearly above the
sirens and screams and
deadly detonations



january two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , ,
31 Dec 2016
6 Comments

throwing caution to the wind


I’m just a two-bit actor
asked to sit still and observe
ticket holders weaving their
way through popcorn lines

what I want to say is that
the movie is in your head
replaying the same scene
in so many different ways

the first time around I was
smoking on a park bench
imagining I was with them
playing frisbee golf

of course that scene was cut
and replaced by a younger me
burning crosses in mississippi

sometimes I sit for hours
in a room full of hopefuls
not saying a word
but rehearsing every line
I ever knew
just in case they call my name



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
30 Dec 2016
8 Comments

hey diddle’s redux


now the crow
how he boasts
but not like a cow
with no place to go

nobody flew
over the moon
not even the crow
comfortably roosting
atop spotted dog

inside farmhouse
grandma plays fiddle
while diddle diddle
licks the dish clean
spoon her microphone
the cat’s caw her song



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,
29 Dec 2016
4 Comments

at one with the earth


they huddle around the fire
the little ones in front
wrapped in animal hides
and mesmerized by the flames

black and bedazzled
is the sky
spotlighting
exhalations of storytellers
reading from unwritten books

soundless nights accentuate
the reality of dreams
projecting and protecting
the history of a people
at one with the earth



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Dreams, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
27 Dec 2016
10 Comments

creation by association


candles burn where I am not
reminding me what may have been

in my little world it is quite dark
at times taking on many shapes
other times simply murmuring

I reach out and bring in pieces
from out of nowhere
meld them together in my palms
first into a ball and
then into whatever fascinations
may gradually evolve

inside each molded piece
an ember burns
invisible to the naked eye

I’ve no idea how many weeks
may pass before revealing themselves
perhaps like a seedling
breaking the surface
or a renegade meteor
breaching an otherwise impregnable sky



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
25 Dec 2016
8 Comments

how I am drawn to you


the town is vacant
abandoned by war
can you feel me
trembling with fear

the moon is afire
and the field is aglow
can you see me
chasing the wind

the bridge is out
and the river is frozen
can you hear me
calling your name

the border is near
attracting me closer
your arms reach out
unbelievably we embrace



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , ,
22 Dec 2016
3 Comments

a streetcar with no name


the sun won’t rise for a couple
hours more
but already the roads
are snow-covered above
and icy below

in most neighborhoods
the morning paper never arrives
and to anyone
daring to venture outside
experiences soft wood burning
and blackbirds squawking

up and down the streets
automobiles idle in driveways
or along curbsides
warming up to new ideas

(earlier a deadly accident
occurs on a lonely street corner)

you cannot hear it
nor can you sense it
you cannot even fathom it
until it slowly disseminates into the air
over a relatively short period of time



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
21 Dec 2016
2 Comments

living the high life


the world opens up and
closes in a heartbeat

you knew what it was like
to be on top of the world
reaching up and touching the sky
challenging your ego
and your super ego
to go even higher

there are many ways
to reach improbable heights
whether legal or otherwise
naturally or artificially
or simply metaphysically

there are many ways
to reverse the trend and dive
deeper than any man
has ever dared gone

neither heights nor depths exist
where you are destined to reside
once the world opens up
and closes in a heartbeat



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
20 Dec 2016
4 Comments

winter solstice


the day brightened just before noon
and so it seemed spirits did the same

city streets awakened from the freeze
newly bustling and sloppy
old snow sadly discolored
passersby warmly dressed
walking briskly and
suppressing their emotions

the angle of the setting sun
made it impossible to move forward



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
19 Dec 2016
6 Comments

and hoping not to die


at first there were a dozen of us
(actually a baker’s dozen)
and we knew everything
there was to know
about each and every one of us

one by one each of us fell
but most of us got back up

but that was seemingly
centuries ago when we didn’t
realize not all stars shine
and the moon can be visible
on the brightest of days

(not having all the facts)
nonetheless we made a pact
heart to heart
    and eye to eye
promising nothing
      except for inevitably
going our separate ways



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
17 Dec 2016
6 Comments

she’ll beat you when able


they saw her just the other day
but like some imperfect card trick
she disappeared in the shuffle

she was a jack of all trades
trapped in a queen’s body
banished from the castle
like some common outlaw

her transformation surprised
yet inspired the locals
swapping stories how she
easily slipped past the
king’s final outposts

some say on certain nights
her newly born image sparkles
like diamonds on the silver screen



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
15 Dec 2016
10 Comments

slender is the moon


sometimes she rises unexpectedly
somewhat slight
and somehow bright
like a slice of lemon or orange
painted in the sky

far out west ideas stretch
and sink
fading like an autumn leaf

face to face juxtapositions often
lead to uncertainty
casting doubt
by way of a thousand lies

there are certainly higher standards
worth obtaining
but not at the cost
of having to show no mercy



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , ,
14 Dec 2016
5 Comments

to catch a glimpse of harmony


I may not know
exactly who I am
but like the bluebird
in your heart
I’ve a good idea
who I am not

people feel compelled
to define you
without a true source
saying you are this
or you are that
adding to the confusion

all I’m saying is we
should be friends
whether you be as near
as kalamazoo
or as far away
as timbuktu

if I owned the night
I would gladly
hand it over
along with all the lights
that shine
forever in the sky



december two thousand sixteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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