she asked what I had
done all day
this after doing god knows what
from nine to five
for a second I thought it was
a trick question
but I quickly regrouped
and said I’d spent most of the day
watching the war in real time
in my mind
the better question might be
what’s that sweet smell
you got going on in the kitchen
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
an early evening
aircraft flying overhead
one after the other
—even the cat taking notice
letting out
a long sigh of relief
safe behind the sectional
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Heaven is comfort, but it’s still not living.
― Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones
I was working on a lullaby
right around midnight
searching for words that rhyme with
worms & undercover
They say the funnel cloud
sounds like a fast approaching locomotive
but it’s nothing more than a mere dream
when a child is fast asleep
If you ever tore anything to pieces
with your own bare hands
you might have an appreciation for
the reality of true brute force
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
a philosopher friend
once told me
try to look at this way
when the dream becomes reality
death is no longer an option
he was pretty stoned
at the time
so i didn’t want to ruin his buzz
yet the more I thought about it
the less I was concerned
about dying
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I cut back the rose bushes
branches & stems & canes
right down to the green
It is early April & cold
a slight wind bemoaning change
—& just like in a recurring dream
a set of eyes (or maybe two)
watching
my every move
I should be wearing gloves
but I never do
my hands with an occasional puncture
blood beading & oozing here & there—
their eyes focused on the color scarlet
I imagine they are imagining
what it would taste like
to lick my wounds
I try to guess what animal
the eyes belong to
but they are shadowless
& possess no language
how I know they are there
remains a mystery to me
but a movement of light in my peripheral
has me looking inward
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
where do you suppose they go
all the good ones
is there a special place in time
nobody’s told us about
see here
I didn’t mean nothing by it
the candle went out
all on its own
and when I tried to bring it back to life
with a wink & a snap
well that was it
nothing doing
we talked for hours about it in the dark
every night the lights go out
and every morning
you wake up a new woman
somehow slightly different
like a daffodil
looking brighter
unconcerned about the law
of diminishing returns
as if there’s nothing to worry about
may two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
The capital city is sinking
but there’s no place left to run
The entire world is on lockdown
though tickets to Mars
are selling for a dime a dozen
If digressing to an archipelago
is on your mind
I may have to ask you
exactly in which dimension
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
do you see it there
a foreigner in the night sky
a light never before seen
solid & unblinking
perhaps a child of mars or venus
or a runaway satellite
hungry for attention
& inching closer
with each lunar cycle
until one night suddenly
completely out of the picture
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the neighbor put up a few signs
saying his boa constrictor
busted out of jail again
the sheriff deputized all the children
in a six block radius
saying do what it takes
to bring in the bastard
dead or alive
meanwhile
the neighbor was last spotted
in a fake mustache & beard
purchasing little white mice
at a nearby petco
these kinds of poems
never end well
& this one
doesn’t stand a chance in hell
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I wasn’t trained to shake it off
which may be why
my skin is inked in sin
Seeing people smile after
fucking up
what is that all about—
the devil or someone
just shaking it off
or perhaps something I can’t
wrap my head around
I keep looking
for enemies
but all I find are people
who look like me
especially the women
some of whom seemingly asking
haven’t we met before
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
strikes stem from the skies
originating between
the clouds & the stars
randomized citizenry
jolted back to life
in the dead of the night
what used to be
infrequent close encounters
has become hell on earth
as if an alien race
nobody can see
plays god from the ether
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
so I agreed to met with this person
who said they had no agenda
—up to twenty inquiries allowed
but I had another thing in mind
(having awakened in a bed
that was not my own)
such as presenting each question
in the form of a wrong answer
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
living in a multiple choice world
I’ve elected to call in sick
having no real ailment
except for the ones
instilled into me by academia
in & around happy hour
I catch the bourgeois walking
out of glass-covered skyscrapers
smart bombs in backpacks
maybe a pearl-handled derringer
cleverly concealed
some say the dark ages
are right around the corner
if not already upon us
ignited by the discontent
lying low in the wings
brought back to life
by the progeny of the privilege
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there is information
in the grapevine
palpitations in the bleeding hearts
tiny mirrors in the garden
playing tricks with the sun
attracting wings of all sizes
protecting the evolution
of a fragile ground game
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
one day I won’t be a burden
spoken about on rare occasions
about hummingbird feeders
the old convertible in the garage
some stories will be harsh
others fatally funny
near death experiences retold
—the runaway character
the recluse looking down upon the sea
I never expressed final wishes
but once imagined being a tree
planted along the cedar
just as she succumbs to the iowa
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they released 2000 rainbow trout
in liberty pond the other day
an event unintentionally clandestine
I looked it up myself after the fact
having been preannounced by the
department of natural resources
there is no conspiracy to be found here
but merely an opportunity
what with an ultra-light rod & tackle box
tidily packed in the corner of my trunk
april two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
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