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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

31 Jul 2023

cloak-and-dagger


incredulous stories
eye-witness accounts
alien spacecraft
& underwater intrigue
black holes leaking
hypothesized holograms

a mix of ordinary
story-tellers
& agents of the state
detailing extraordinary events
like a fiction writer
fine-tuning their craft

the public cannot believe
believers calling it witchcraft
unable to surmise
how the center of the universe
can simply reside
inside their very minds





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
30 Jul 2023

sparkles in her eyes


and so I found a way
to call her
I sixteen
& she a year younger
we made a date
—I swear I was in love
she had sparkles
around her eyes
but when I asked
she said
she didn’t know what I meant
& over time neither did I





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
29 Jul 2023

premonition


time is slowing
leaking from my body
I can feel it
like a premonition
knowing without understanding
how soon I will be like a stone
on the bottom of a river
anonymous & inanimate
—unseen by the naked eye





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
28 Jul 2023

joyride


what the hell do you mean
this could be the final chapter
I’m only halfway through
my latest book
my darling

she says I take things too literal
& I reply saying that’s impossible

jackson browne is playing
on the radio
as if it’s nineteen seventy-nine
the girl riding shotgun
turning the volume dial
all the way to the right

it’s fun to reminisce she screams
& I nod in agreement
my right foot pressing the pedal
all the way to the metal





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
27 Jul 2023

alien ant farm


they’ve been at it
since the beginning of time
ancient aliens
looking forward & never back
advanced tunnelers
& experts in their field
bridging galaxies & multiverses
by way of black holes
the lights on their antennae
leading the way





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
26 Jul 2023

spontaneously combusting


worlds are colliding
great balls of fire
streaking through space

here on earth
there is fire on the mountains
and fire on the seas
—on the mainland
bales of hay are
spontaneously combusting
right alongside
living & breathing alien beings

soon the only ice on the planet
will be man made
attempting to cool down a collective
suddenly looking back
to a future with promises
of grandeur





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
25 Jul 2023

champagne supernova


—with a nod to Oasis

working on concocting a new cocktail
one that may give my life meaning
before it’s too late

that is to say
I don’t think we’re coming back next time

the positive & the negative
somewhat like good & evil
black & white
sugar & spice
& all the colors of the sky
juxtapositioning anything & everything
until the cows come mooing home

on the radio someone singing
where were you while we were getting high
the volume rising even higher





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
24 Jul 2023

harvesting human DNA


they’re talking about us
refractive plants
exhibiting arms
& shoulders
working on
additional features

if you cut them down
will they bleed

if you dig & divide
will they multiple tenfold

there is concern
in the fields
where the alien plants
[in short order]
mimic what they’ve learned
on earth thus far

soon they will be
able to think

soon they will be able
to speak

is it merely a coincidence
that the harvest moon
is scheduled to arrive
any night now





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
23 Jul 2023

sunday evening news


he’s gonna be a millionaire
simply by breaking the law

revenge is a powerful tool
especially when used by a fool
releasing the attack dog
after the subject’s surrender





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
22 Jul 2023
4 Comments

lighthouse


I am misplaced like a key
or a glove or a memory
right within plain sight

I’ve always said
I don’t belong here
no matter where I stood

I live near a river
but was promised the sea
and now my mind wanders
adrift in a vessel without a name

there’s always this calling
[call it what you will]
working in the background
occasionally handing out
a hint or a proposition
but mainly observing
like a lighthouse





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
21 Jul 2023

project liberty


where did it go
that little son-of-a-bitch
I had in my hand yesterday

you misplaced it again
says the reptilian part
of my brain
and I reply right out loud
—yeah I know

this lapse is most likely
directly related to modern day
religion & politics
both failing institutions
trying to keep holding hostage
yesterday

looking at my left wrist
things are starting to come back to me
how the kitchen knives
need sharpening
that occam’s razor is probably
the sure-fire way to go





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
20 Jul 2023

Portcullis


Open the door &
open the mind
do you remember
once upon a time
old grey ghosts
still knowing how
to play guitar
but only when they want

Sometimes sounding
like a homesick bluebird
or a cicada
building its coffin on
a crabapple branch
the former & latter shell
always in the same place
for how many
years now

The angle may change
but the story
remains the same
an empire made of sand
by nature designed
to reside in the aether
the grated gate
ominous but ever open





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
19 Jul 2023

the last resort


stuck inside this shell of mine
I look inward at it’s design
craftily built like a canoe for one
carving the river like a knife

the inner workings invisible
to the naked eye
heartbeat & conscious thought
maintaining its own world order

what once stayed afloat in water
will eventually take to flight
if not as a last resort
then by the will of its very self





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
18 Jul 2023

in & out of focus


they arrive out of nowhere
the unannounced
the romantics or the beat poets
not knowing they’re dead
reciting old verses
as you sit in near silence

the bird songs
filter in through the screens
providing background noise
irregular yet repetitive
like the marcher’s drum
ever closer to peace





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
17 Jul 2023
2 Comments

feckless & freckled


the spots on my skin
will not go away
no matter how much I try
rubbing them into nothingness

they are the byproduct
of sea & salt & yellow sun
having multiplied over the years

born without a blemish
they represent the accumulation
of my flaws
a growing reminder
of what I chose
not to be





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
16 Jul 2023
2 Comments

the monster is dead


I saw it on the news
a rare glimpse of streaming media
first in my peripheral
and then in full view

I didn’t want to see it
it was a mistake
—now something I’m unable to take back

I’m not sure what I’m doing
living amongst
all these killer monsters
some successfully hunted down & dead
but the far majority eerily humanlike
& free to roam the planet





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in In the City, Poetry and tagged , , ,

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