it’s gone
whatever it was
a flashing light
a fleeting thought
a glimpse deep within a newly
created memory
most likely not to be recalled
anytime soon
spared the permanency
of any & all airwaves
perhaps recorded
in some other fashion
in such a way we may
never understand
until time has long passed
and there it is
long last
staring you in the eye
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it takes energy
to sustain energy
to create & recreate
the mirror understands
goes back in time
your neck at an angle
trying to decipher if what
you saw is what you recall
they’re making money
out of thin air
tens of thousands of machines
mining like virtual maniacs
their controllers hoping to
strike gold again
secluded in the sierra foothills
it’s understood some cities
are being flattened
old bosses with their old technologies
laying to waste their arsenals
out of sheer boredom
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there’s not been much talk
of late about april or rain
or easter sunday
on the news they say
the drought is ongoing
children in the heartland
growing thirstier by the hour
children in the theater of war
running for their lives
nobody goes to church anymore
of course that is a lie
not as big as some others
but perfectly relevant as it relates
to the presently prevailing antichrist
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
addicted to the unknown
& because we don’t know any better
we shame ourselves
by exposing our bodies & souls
up & down the avenue
on the shoreline
we casually collect seashells
& look at ourselves in the mirror
unlocking the mysteries
to the goddess of love
by eventide we turn away
throwing away the unconquerable
but keeping what matters most
the off-white angel wings
& footprints in the sand
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
a beautiful shot is what you would call it
a well thought out plan expertly executed
what else would you expect for one million pounds
paid via wire transfer to the caymans
the most important thing was the publicity
entire world knowing the end of the end is near
the fighting & the lies & the supersonic missiles
surprisingly cease to be talking points
the mainstream media & the underground unite
all because of a terroristic precision strike
fired from two hundred fifty yards away
hitting its integral & intended target
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the plagiarist was working
on sublime messages
having been reminded of something
socrates once wrote about poetry
stitch & sew & repeat ad nauseam
forever shutting the one eye
that could see through anything
calling out you’re a liar
look & see your pants are on fire
mentors & proteges often clash
dueling for the honor of who wrote what
a winner take all proposition
the loser sentenced to silence
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
putting things into perspective
could be the worst thing
for the psyche
in other words
forget about making sense
of the material world
instead seek all possible ways
to free yourself
from your body
and from there & there only
will you come
to understand compassion
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
write some words for me
and then read them
to me
push me pull me
lift my spirit
out of my body
make my mind pause
inside a peaceful presence
the sound on all four sides
like a seashell
your voice in the background
gradually gaining volume
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
what else is there to talk about
now that the storms have passed
I was told it would go down like this
first the great divide & then the fall
in my mind the great resignation
was more like a melancholy separation
especially when compared to the present
I’m done waiting or moving in lines
for some handout I could do without
there are plenty of other ways to escape
open your mind & I’ll show you
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
instead of pushing a button
I snail mail a handwritten note
saying please call me
of course I signed my name
in an unfriendly kind of cursive
sure to trigger an emotion
a few days pass by
& by then I’d forgotten that you’d
forgotten how to forgive
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s a complicated thing
trying to live in the past
whether it be via memories
or physical reality itself
the theory of experience
is like a bulletproof vest
hanging on the door hook
next time you’ll probably
take it with you
if there is a next time
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I thought I’d seen it all
now how ridiculous is that to say
this day & age
the thing is what you’ve seen
thus far is the tip of the melting iceberg
when it comes to expressions
we seem to take
the easy way out
like taking up arms for real estate
or bullying out of sheer boredom
truth is the fat lady will never
stop singing
and the pot is sure to boil
but what’s up in the air
seems to never want to come down
like an alien in waiting
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the communication
has been spotty
mostly due to
long fought wars
& some climate change
I was told to go to my
gray room & there I stay
a prisoner of my own mind
solving rubik’s cube
after rubik’s cube
but unable to temper & tame
not a single thing
not a cat nor a mouse
neither a mangy canine
nor bengal tiger
I have paper & pencil
& there is a slot that
wants to be a window
one that gives & takes
one that admonishes
in one breath
& forgives in another
at least the gray room
is no longer white
I like it that way
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
scores of countries
are currently at war
can you name them
can you name them all
insurgencies & civil
drug & trade
so many wars in so little time
death & destruction
urban cities or rural countryside
children & women
men & animals
mass murdered by war
recycled like raw material
leaders become illegitimate
in a matter of minutes
pushing buttons
calling on their machines
to massacre before our very eyes
this the twenty-first century
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we are ingrained in repetition
long before we were born
before then we already knew
rivers run into the sea
& stars fall from the sky
you’ve learned by way of music
how riders of the storm
were born into this lonely house
and so you close your eyes
dancing in the center of
your own universe
one in which has no ending
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
nothing’s new in the world
striped tigers in arenas
& armed men in jungles
thousands dying by day
inside cramped quarters
or in ever greater expanses
escapes are different today
not like whipping ‘round
the dark side of the moon
so many eyes set on the west
vast migrations looking up
at passenger starships
you’ve been uprooted
recruited & participating in
some master grander scheme
born as nothing but a bit player
soaking in the sun
& walking the beach
(waiting for the call)
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 