jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “reflection”

while waiting to see the doctor


always competitive
the byproduct of older
siblings who went full bore
on & off the field

always driven I strove
to be the smartest
the fastest
the most nimble
and quite possibly
the best embellisher

not only did I excel
in most endeavors
but I had to fabricate
[to anyone who would listen]
how much better I was
than in reality

at some point the lies
catch up with you
and after a lifetime
of having to live with them
you look back at all your losses
and say to yourself
look here
you failed more times
than you’d care to admit

and then wonder exactly when
you became so lonely


april two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

on the top stoop of the old porch


I wanted to say I saw it
coming but didn’t want
to be called a liar
but the fact is
it’s all academic
considering I’m not
sitting next to anyone


march two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

living alone


after a night of ups & downs
the morning arrives unceremoniously
a slow transition from silence
to quietly audible sounds
a little bit of light filtering in

what conversation there is
resides in the back of your mind
sitting on the end of the bed
trying to determine if your dream
will one day become reality


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

stepping stones


your garden is all grown up
said the daughter
to the old man as they
sat in front of the fire pit
listening to the wood talk

she remembered way back when
there were stepping stones
throughout the garden
and she would jump from one stone
to the next like you would
playing hopscotch

the stones were still there
camouflaged beneath the jungle
barely noticeable amongst the greenery
blossoming a spectrum of colors
rainbows inspired to imitate

do you remember
when we put in the stepping stones
asked the old man

yes I do
answered the daughter
I was just thinking about that



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

some kind of way out of here


in the archives
they let me spend my time
weaving tales of prison breaks
not even the watchtower
can contain

this life inside
the loneliest place on earth
would break the common man
but here I sit and sail away
stealthily

once a month
I wander the yard and chat
with all the pretty young ladies
who stopped writing me
years ago

in my mind
I lived out my days in paradise
where the flowering perennials
rooted before the breach
still flourish



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

fishing with jesus


sometimes I just cry myself to sleep
when I think about all the things
I’m gonna miss about this place
I told jesus
as we sat on the rocks
casting our lines out into the sea
neither of us worrying
whether or not there was fish to catch



june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

New Moon in the Twelfth House


I don’t necessarily like
the way I was raised
just like I’m not expressly thrilled
with the way I raised my own

I don’t mind all of the free
time I have these days
just like I’ve come to accept
how astrological forces
forever rule the world

I’ve considered going back
to tinker with a few things
but the new moon
in the twelfth house
keeps me grounded here


april two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

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