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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

26 Jan 2024

ninety-seven light years away


the river is bound to flood again
it’s only a matter of time

and what of the newly discovered exoplanet
blue & white and twice the size of earth

don’t you suppose the rivers flood there

once the levee breaks all hell will break loose
and people will ask yet again
why do we build so close to the water

what is our fascination with risk & reward

I can’t imagine life would be much different
once we colonize the watery place





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
25 Jan 2024

January fog


It’s sixty-thirty
and the deer sauntering down the street
have gotten the dogs agitated
so much so that their anxiety
& their owners’ displeasure
can be heard from the outside

It is winter still
and the night is calm
the air thick from the rising temperatures
giving both the deer & the dogs
the confidence they need
to do as they please





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, In the City, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
24 Jan 2024
8 Comments

his schizophrenia girl


he’s a photographer & AI artist
roaming the city streets
w/his girl by his side
she likes to walk along the pier
each visit like witnessing the ocean
for the very first time

she’s an artist herself
and a doctor & a dreamer
a purple flower & self-made author
concocting stories she’s swears
are as real as the waves
splashing before her eyes

he takes her by the hand
strolling back toward the plaza
asking her what will it be today
anything she responds
as long as he’s present
the only constant in her mind





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,
23 Jan 2024

building walls


suppressing your expressions
exactly beginning when
I can only fathom
most likely building walls
long before anyone’s best guess

perhaps the only way to get inside
is from above
where there is no roof
and where there is no ceiling
somewhere a flickering light
in need of a little kindling





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
22 Jan 2024
2 Comments

a small matter of life & death


little black spider
races across the oak floor
suddenly stops
for no apparent reason

is he out of breath
and simply needs to rest
or has he forgotten
his desired destination
now recalculating a new route

from where I sit I am
less than two steps
away from the little fellow
a single question
repeating in my mind
the obvious answer
lying in my compassion for life





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , ,
21 Jan 2024
4 Comments

preternatural


autumn came & went hastily
chasing shadow-like ghosts
into the night
retreating into the dead of winter

once underground
the air became tolerable
inner workings quietly expanding
like a spiderweb in the rafters

the first signs of spring
would arrive later than usual
the missiles & the drones
silencing bird calls
canceling once promising rains





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , ,
20 Jan 2024
2 Comments

two-thirty in the afternoon


death is in the next room
waiting to be called
deleting apps rarely used
on the smartphone

meanwhile in the family room
everyone is alive & well
including the eldest
recently revived
by an emergency room doctor

back in the next room
death stands at the bay window
counting crows gathering atop rooftops
watching the waning crescent
descending past the white pines





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , , ,
19 Jan 2024

rock stars in baseball diamonds


I always thought twinkle twinkle little star
was a song about baseball
—the diamond in the sky
a destination where former greats would play
after moving on from their game

once graduating from little league
my thought process evolved into imagining
how the field was expanding
the players including all the young rock stars
who kept dying w/some regularity
right in the prime of their lives





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Baseball, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
18 Jan 2024

the spirit flickers with defiance


this space is my last resort
where sadness meets insanity
for no particular reason

I am like a donkey dying
incapable of braying or dreaming
of greener pastures

the gods are deciding
if enough is enough
a simple majority sending me
out to space to view the earth
from afar before exploding
before my very eyes

they don’t say what will happen next
so I actively sit here in this space
inventing my own conclusions





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
17 Jan 2024

spring training


I planted some seeds
between the car house
and the neighbor next door
a place with little traffic
where the sun is hard pressed
to zero in on
on a partly cloudy day

I imagine a year from now
traffic will pick up
between the car house
and the neighbor next door
mainly due to how the sun
is attracted to her own
newly colorful creations





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
16 Jan 2024

the misinformants


Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.
Albert Einstein

the information age
hasn’t enlightened the collective mind
having changed little what transpires
on a spinning silver-blue jewel

birds & bees carry on with their
multitude of purposes
actors performing on stage &
the silver screen
wild horses yet incapable
of dragging mick jagger away

rather it may be accelerating
the spread of hatred & contempt
fueled by talking fools
who feed the masses their very own
version of fire & brimstone





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
15 Jan 2024

returning to the airwaves


before the television
there was radio
before FM AM
cool call letters like KSTT
doctor DJs spinning forty-fives
warriors & wolfmen too

the airwaves always were
& will be the place to be
whether laid out on the floor
with no place to go
or taking the magic carpet
for one final ride





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
14 Jan 2024

when the levee breaks


once the snow melted
the waterways swelled
one tributary feeding the next
from stream to creek to river to street

it would be a mess
how spring had sprung a major leak
flowers sprouting
despite nearly drowning

fish displaced inside businesses
situated within flood zones
shelterless children using spears
to bring home the bacon
for mama to fry

the way things were going
the season of regeneration
was on the verge of perpetuity
all those affected beginning to ask
if the normalcy of summer
would ever arrive





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Fishing, In the City, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
13 Jan 2024

Stone Soup


I’m in the kitchen
making stone soup
stirring the pot with a wooden ladle
that used to be a paddle

The doorbell rings
and I yell let yourself in
next thing I know there’s a white rabbit
handing me a couple of carrots
—I cut them into coins
& toss them into the pot

One by one my furry friends
drop by to donate to the soup
make themselves at home in the TV room
Nick at Nite replaying old Looney Tunes

white rabbit
yellow duck
brown bear
one wild & one domesticated dog
three kittens and two pussy cats
a mouse & marsupial & weasel
& all sorts of striped animals
salivating at the mouth
laughing at Tom & Jerry

When the supper bell rings
the TV turns dark
& the lights brighten
slurping sounds soon abounding
empty tummies quickly filling





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
12 Jan 2024
3 Comments

the winter hold


days before the blizzard arrived
I noticed a small family of crows
visiting the neighborhood
leaving me pondering what on earth
they were doing here
having strayed from the larger gathering
that couldn’t have been that far away
—or perhaps they were scouts
in search of a protective copse
capable of holding hundreds
or up to one thousand of their kind





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , ,
11 Jan 2024

how the cookie crumbles


she sat on the loveseat
eating a kit kat bar
four fingers of chocolaty deliciousness
each one with her name on it

there was no room for sharing
not tonight
not with abandonment
hovering in the air above her
becoming thicker as each finger
evaporated into her mouth

call it a pout or call it a frown
but it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon
even after all four fantastical fingers
were replaced by yet another
unwrapped panacea





january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment

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