the threats are real
as real as the violence
in the streets
an angry mob
unstoppable
marches toward its
final destination
beware the nukes
once they’re launched
there will be
no more mob
no more anger
no more streets
upon which to protest
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we’re not going to talk about the weather
or the first full day of autumn
now grab your jacket & get in the car
this time we’re going all the way to san jose
* * *
shifting sleep hours is but a trick of the brain
—much like the subtle change of
the angle of the sun
* * *
beneath a blanket of sorrow much is lost
but not completely forsaken
for you see
there’s a certain chemistry in the air
that potentially changes everything
* * *
the scarf is lost
the hair set free
the inward wind & the ocean waves
calling your name
over and over and over again
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
at a loss for words
I shuffle through the junk drawer
looking for nothing
in particular
shaking my head
at all the things
I have no reason to keep
starting to wonder
when the time comes
who will take inventory of them
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
expectations continue to dwindle exponentially
and then the sun rises again
what are we doing except exhuming bodies
as if they were black birds
murdered en masse only 10 days ago
people are coming & going
on conveyor belts
some of them alive & some still dying
the workers & the robots
having no idea
where they’re coming from
the shifts are ‘round the clock
nobody is disgruntled because they’re taught
[in their developmental stage]
there is nothing to be disgruntled about
and so while they go about their routines
occasionally someone will ask
why hasn’t time converted to the metric system
everything is constructed & destroyed here
except for the living & the dying
the baby girl in the trash bin
the nomad in the desert
a businessman on a twenty-story ledge
overcome by the promise of eternity
—everything just as it should be
like the wandering marionette
disoriented & obsolete
with nary a stage to perform upon
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there’s nothing to see here
everybody move along
when authority figures
tell people to move along
chances are
there is plenty to see
the shooting took place
mid-morning
and by lunch time
two dwellings & three
vehicles were taped off
there was plenty of talk
but not much action
& those with pics or vids
on their person
most likely kept them
close to the vest
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I can’t expect to pretend
anymore the writing
is on the wall
—the writing wall
revealing all that is real
& what is false
standing before it
I am there among thousands
reading & nodding
rereading & shaking my head
the crowds come & go
like swarms of locusts
taking me off my feet
carrying me to the next exhibit
maybe another wall
or a grotto or a cavern
speaking to me
this time via images & symbols
that I have likely
seen before
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
who is to say
that this is it
the end has finally
arrived
and there you stand
a witness to it all
who is to say
tomorrow
is nothing like it
used to be
golden rays
replaced to no end
who is to say
all the records
accumulated inside
will never be restored
or rebroadcasted
into the void
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there is a strange frequency in the air
and the traffic is lighter than usual
[nearly nonexistent actually]
it’s as though the small & bright city
has become a ghost town
pick a year any year and you will
find how nothing has changed
how ghost towns have become
overtaken by nature in seventy-five
or one hundred years’ time
of all the cold wars taken place
this one is the most chilling
women & children sacrificed
by the hundreds of thousands
the men mysteriously evaporated
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s a self fulfilling story
or so the prophets say
the prince’s son
sent to the planet mars
to settle a dispute
a mission doomed
from the very start
the prince’s son
murdered en route
via his majesty’s consort
empires come & go
but this breakaway ploy
by the prince’s son
likely opens the door
to the next millennium
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I’m going by memory
so my facts may be a little fuzzy
but it was the early eighties
and I was in line
at Hamburg Inn No. 2
Supposedly Jimmy Carter
was a few spots ahead of me
or so the young lady I was with pointed out
me promptly responding
with something like shut the fuck up
Like I say I’m going by memory here
but I’m pretty sure both Jimmy
and I ordered a double swiss &
a small fry
(I don’t remember what drinks
they offered
but if they had beer on tap
that was probably it)
There’s no way you could eat
inside the smallish & popular place
most of the booths & seats & stools
nearly always taken
a minority of which
by ghosts of politicians past
As we headed back downtown
—lunching while we walked—
I kept asking what’s her name
if she was absolutely sure
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you’ve lost yourself again
in the deepness of the woods
where the mind is incapable
of producing concrete thoughts
or having any kind of convictions
overtaken by an energy unseen
and guided by a spirit
that had anticipated your arrival
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
There is an absence that is indefinable
as if the ghost dog who once roamed freely
throughout the house had suddenly departed
It was the cat who first noticed the absence
bringing it to my attention by way of behaviors
that were secondary to her nature
entering my dreams unconventionally
revealing other lives I once lived
In the morning I stand in the shower
warm water washing away dirt & blood &
anything strangely unsettled or emotionless
Going through the motions is an expression
best left for those who have given up
no longer searching & thereby incapable of
finding the smallest of things that had been lost
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the neighborhood
was littered with feral cats
black & white
blue & yellow & green
and every other shade
in between
the majority of them
food stamp carriers
all the others hiding
in the shadows
keeping the rodent population
under control
all the while steering clear
of the recently formed
fleet of drones
locally & affectionately known
as the catnappers
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
how proud the sun must be
giving life incredulity
inside her own little galaxy
as a member of her third family
she gave me life & took it away
repetitiously
to the point where I was
unmistakably incapable of
learning from past transgressions
and so without fanfare
she banished me from her realm
sent me sailing into interstellar space
hopeful one day another star
would pull me in
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they say it’s not fair
and they’re not wrong
having been in & out
of positions of interest
such as exaltation
neutrality &
documented misery
it has nothing to do
with the failure of democracy
but rather the ignorance
of the many
and the stupidity of the few
—handed down to the latter
by way of failed ideals
never mind that the gaiety
of the past pertained
to a privileged few
who somehow managed
to make-believe
it belonged to the masses
—only to be crushed by them
on the spirit level
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I thought it was monday
but it was sunday again
as if six days went missing
blown away by nuclear winds
the world news at nine
didn’t tell me anything
I didn’t already know
living on a wing & a prayer
in this post-apocalyptic world
the great migration
has only just begun
how many sundays may pass
before I must move on
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 