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poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “Poetry”

10 Sep 2021

it’s no big thing


that card she flipped
has got to be good karma
no matter how you look at it

it’s that time of year
the garden stretches itself
inviting unwelcome guests
when nobody is watching

she brings in more forces
earthly or otherwise
amassing swords at the border
repeating a pluperfect past

somehow the inevitable meltdown
becomes nothing
but a nonevent
leaving you with a bogey in hand
and a joker to your right





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
09 Sep 2021

caught in a web of lies


what you wouldn’t give to be
someone else
how does it work that way
the heart & brain
at odds with each other
daily deciphering conflicts of interest
by way of the past

oh yes the past is a problem
but you cannot pick your ancestors
no matter what terrible
things they did to whole
groups of people
to dwell there is living there
with no correction in sight

you want to believe you’re
the misunderstood victim
but it doesn’t work that way
not when you’re the aggressor
dishing out hatred
by way of blind ignorance
born into a world without resolve





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , | Leave a comment
08 Sep 2021

like a tulip or a monarch


skyscrapers rise & fall
no thanks to mere mortals
able to destroy that which they build
like a flawed god
constantly seeking attention

the gradual unfolding of a field
exposing all that is real
be it friend or flora or foe
young & old bones alike
buried so far below

bricks build these roads
one on top of another
a city layered in storied centuries
living & dying & born again
like a tulip or a monarch





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in History, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
07 Sep 2021
2 Comments

answering the false call


sirens sounded
the crows & ravens took off from their stations
carrying messages of survival in their dna

one arrived on my fence post
half a day after the warning
sturdy & stoic & talking in a language
only I would understand

of course he arrived prematurely
this much he knew
for the skies became more colorful
allowing me to admire the varying
degrees of darkness in his wings

within the hour he departed on his
own accord
probably to where the water was rising
leaving me to my one device
and my mixed emotions





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Poetry and tagged , ,
06 Sep 2021

outside afghanistan


it’s not explainable
be it fish or fowl
or alien invasion
so many miles
from the shoreline

out on the lake
I saw it unfolding
in slow motion
like a weather event
swiftly moving in

how none of the
witnesses rememberedOUT
a thing is baffling
leaving me on the inside
refusing to look out

from what I hear
I’ve made the short list
but now I’m absent
far removed from the sea
& probably landlocked





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Aliens, Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , | Leave a comment
05 Sep 2021

stoning at six forty-five


the energy is real but does
not transcend time
instead you are left suspended
like a lone cirrus cloud

back down to earth
you accept the challenge
seven shots of tequila
all lined up in a pretty row

to be stoned to near death
in this day & age
has become as common
as the common cold
whether voluntarily
or otherwise





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
04 Sep 2021
6 Comments

reverse psychology


I’m not interested in your ideology
it’s much too mainstream for me

did I tell you what I did last week
how I lost my sight
only to fully recover by way
of a miracle

you keep talking about revolutions
but all I care about
is peace of mind
the kind you find accidentally
on purpose

in the meantime you keep
losing me in the fringes
that place in your mind I still
refuse to go to




september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
03 Sep 2021

The Accident


There are no conclusions
only a somewhat consistent restarting
of forward motion

When you die you may hop aboard
The Accident
commuter train filled beyond capacity
traveling ten times the speed
of her nearest competitor

Anyone lucky enough to step inside
will never want to leave
and those who accidentally get thrown
will mysteriously become a failed
star or a forever satellite





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
02 Sep 2021

the queen’s gambit


you know this much about me
this space between my thumb & forefinger
not quite touching

I tell you to trace your finger
down the scar along my right carotid
but you want nothing to do with it
telling me it scares you

there is no middle ground to be had
as if you speak in one language
and me in my very own

with a pencil I scratch out some words
ones I’m sure you’ll understand

I lift the paper up to my chin
but you turn away your pretty
but foreign face
telling me without talking
I am right about not knowing





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
01 Sep 2021
2 Comments

dusting off the cobwebs


playing the piano for no good reason
nobody around & the light just right

it’s not quite like riding a bike
the fingers & the brain
without any practice
it’s much too easy to lose one’s way

no decisions are needed at this time
no buys or sells
no excuses necessary for
sleeping in or extending happy hour
no tit for tat
or exchanging this for that

retreating from the spinet
there’s a slight sadness in the air
a silver & red harmonica
appearing out of the shadows
showing off her dusty wings





september two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged ,
31 Aug 2021
2 Comments

on getting to the other side


I came to the negotiating table
with half a chip
& was forced to play my hand

I had nothing to offer
but much to my surprise
soon realized that was my strength

it’s funny how your friends
call you a fool & your enemies
look at you like you’re a tree
or a big rock
or a one-way ticket to ride

there is a boat on the other
side of the river
one that will take you to the nearest ship
and all it takes to reach it
is one more microchip





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
30 Aug 2021

while under a severe storm warning


in a crowded auditorium
I was hand picked by my teacher
“which direction do birds
fly for the winter” was the question
probably directed my way with a certain
level of confidence in my answer
but I replied with something other than “south”
and thus it was from that point forward
I lost all but a crumb of credibility
at the budding young age of five & a half





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Birds, Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
29 Aug 2021

technocat


the central banker
was technically
a technocrat
but in professional circles
was simply known
as ‘technocat’

her name was katie
but her friends
called her betty
known to line ‘em up
and knock ‘em down
every saturday night

on occasion
she’d end up missing
for a day or three
only to return to the glee
of the other technos
relying on her expertise





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Animals, Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
28 Aug 2021
4 Comments

with a gun in her hand


besides the derringer
she owned three revolvers
and a winchester rifle
kept them stashed in the master bedroom
the former in the middle dresser drawer
the latter in the closet

for the afternoon outing she wore
an off-white summer dress
sporting a petite white purse with
the derringer inside
walking through a lonely park
with a married man
covertly arranged by an angry woman





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
27 Aug 2021
4 Comments

gun for hire


she’s out back hanging laundry
a slight breeze cooling
her tanned skin
methodically rehearsing in her mind
precisely what will go down
come this time tomorrow





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , ,
26 Aug 2021
2 Comments

when searching for gold


they were searching for gold
but only found silver
nearly in abundance on either
side of the rivers

they arrived at elkport
over a fortnight ago
labored along the banks of the
volga & the turkey
right at the height
of the twenty year drought

they worked the bloody sands
like only they knew
sifting silver flour into canisters
courtesy of the glaciers
counting their blessings
(almost on a daily basis)
at the local bank
or the nearest pub





august two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , ,

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