you could smell
but did not taste the citric acid
the buds on your tongue
all but gone
you once believed in miracles
fairy tales & a ghost
named pseudo su
you used to carry
one-way tickets
to unlimited destinations
but traded them in
for a kiss & three wishes
how did you not notice
I’m not around here anymore
at least not in broad daylight
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I wonder what they’re saying
chatty birds in nearby trees
clearly heard amid the calm
before the storm
might they be saying
get underground all you fools
or better yet be prepared
to ride with the wind
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how’s your tendinitis
do you remember when you had
to stop mousing
& start fiddling around
in the garden
the heel of your right foot
remains sore from the shovel
but you don’t remember
feeling a thing
after so many beers
in the evening
as you sit on the front patio
looking at birds
through opera glasses
your phone rings & rings
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they gave the boy permission
and so he did what he did
no questions asked
no consequences for his actions
it’s a wonder he made it
all the way to adulthood
he wasn’t a natural born killer
simply trained in such ways
moving on from animals
to ordinary people
picking & choosing as if
he were some sort of god
as if he didn’t know any better
neither wrong from right
or the photographs that he kept
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
lost in the moment
tree frogs & cicadas
fine-tuning their evening song
the first star appearing
in the darkening ceiling
—worlds far away far from motionless
what were you thinking (if anything)
when you kissed me so sweetly
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
he wore green pants
—and no it wasn’t saint paddy’s day
he wore green pants
and he’s not even irish
he just likes the way they look
one day he told his girlfriend
maybe I’ll put on green pants
every morning from here on out
she agreed they looked good on him
he was never envious
or money hungry
didn’t care for pea soup
or mowing the lawn
but he liked to wear green pants
and that became his true identity
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
she said if I would stop working
on trying to solve the mystery
of the universe
maybe we’d be living
by the sea by now
I pretended not to hear
magnifying glass in hand
following the spider
making its way across the rug
and you should take that thing down
she went on to say
pointing at the corner ceiling
at the microcosm
of the world wide web
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
what stands out
is hard to recognize
like a piece of art
you’ve looked at for maybe
five minutes
before moving on
it’s right there
in your grasp
that indescribable something
that’s supposed
to make your life and/or
death easier
in either case
it leads you into thinking
it’s the unheard of
the unseen
that needs your dire attention
more than anything
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I walked along the river
its current
streaming through
bone conduction headphones
I turn the volume up
using thought commands
—the early spring leaves
in the very tall trees
growing greener
by the minute
the eagle sees the crow
but not vice versa
hawks circling overhead
escorting me along
the shoulder of the road
zeroing in on the welcome sign
at a trailhead
the river reminds me
home is further from the truth
suggesting its best
to stay close to her banks
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
though the thrill remains
it has taken a backseat
come monday morning
the rooster down the road
late to the party
mainly due to the fallout
of the geomagnetic night sky
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it was mother’s day
and graduation
the weather was awesome
sunshine & a few fluffy clouds
some with heart-shaped holes in them
—a cool wind out of the northwest
and if you’re stuck inside
trying to write poetry
you’re probably wasting your time
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
reality is a bit overrated
what with its wars
and all the pretending
that goes along with it
various men sporting colors
not making much sense
in this day and age—
red & yellow & orange
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I was thinking about the clock
how he said it was made in Korea
that he couldn’t read
the instructions that came with it
Over time he learned
how to make it work properly
It was a handsome clock
featuring day & time
sunrise & sunset
but what stood out to me
was how he said it wasn’t smart
One day it lay on the couch
in the living room
lifeless & undisturbed
somewhat like a stillborn baby
I remember him distinctly shouting
‘don’t touch it’
It’s just resting he went on to say
I couldn’t muster the strength
to place it back on the wall
And so in the morning
we got it back on the wall
back hanging on the set screw
day & time
sunrise & sunset
back to where it should be
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we live in a vacuum
the suction excruciatingly slow
you don’t ever notice
at least not when you’re alive
and in good health
it’s like a reverse form of gravity
picking away at the skin
eventually bone
it’s how a stone’s face
reinvents itself time & again
what’s lost is unlikely lost
simply misplaced
like a memory or birthday wish
tugging on your hemline
temporarily elusive
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they say the numbers look good
so off they go
shipped in the middle of the night
when the old numbers go out
new ones come in
and with a little tweaking
or some massaging
or altogether reworked
they too will look good
and off they go
shipped in the middle of the night
sometimes the numbers don’t work out
the way they should
and the outcome manifests itself
into minor or major accidents
an occasional total death & destruction
and when the latter is the case
the number crunchers will be handcuffed
and taken away
each one replaced by something shiny & new
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
where do we go
once time stands still
like a flamingo preening
in shallow water
lost in endless thought
behold the eternal flame
trapped inside a frozen cave
indistinguishable from time
secluded like a dream
if only you could find
the formulaic language
of putting time in a nutshell
buried in the spring
by the keeper of the stars
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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