There’s too much activity
too much energy
and too little space
How many bodies
can you put in a capsule
and expect everyone
to come out alive—
on the other side
may two thousand twenty-five
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it’s always been too much house
black widows casting spells
from within wasted spaces
the tiny bedroom a dot in the ocean
—an island of misfit miscellany
muted noises next to nothing
to worry about
except when the water tables
start to rise
august two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
most care little
about running out of space
there’ll always be a patch
to plant pumpkins they say
always a spot in the wilderness
to build a log cabin
the bigger problem
most everyone seems to agree
is about running of time
at least living on this planet
with its natural resources
dwindling by the minute
may two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I could have had religion
but I wasn’t born that way
imagining unable to give life
no longer a god
the ending materializing
but that’s not how the story goes
perhaps it’s all the simplicities
that makes it so complicated
children are raising their hands
to be taken into space
away from a place
that maybe makes sense
one out of every seven days
december two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
you make me feel this big she said
eyes squinting
thumb and forefinger
an inch away from her nose
walking taller than usual
she exited the stage like someone
who knew exactly
where she was heading
as open minds followed
her every footstep
my mind traveled far inside
that imaginary space
she had just recited
march two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
when the two humans arrived
I knew there would be trouble
the pigman who carried
death sentences
on twelve systems
was just dying to pick a fight
once the pigman’s
wanking arm lay alone
on the floor of the bar
the music resumed
and we all just looked away
and carried on
about our business
september two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
Prisoners walked the lily fields
in magnetic boots
picking up pieces of shrapnel
left from centuries of hatred
Misunderstandings on Earth
are as certain as battlefields
unnecessary as bleeding hearts
never truly loved
Children of all civilizations
were fed into the factory
placed in single file lines
and taught elastic freedoms
As the elders grew past death
they’d come to realize
peaceful starships could sail
beyond the sun and back
april, two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 