let me see
let me gather my thoughts
like I gather flowers in the garden
one precise cut at a time
there is something on my mind
it lingers like a ghost
on the shady side of the garden
I sit & wait for it to edge closer
some days are easier
than others
that is widely known
and those that are not
drop hints & clues along the way
a subtle progression
that keeps me wanting more
april two thousand twenty-one
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I borrowed someone else’s thoughts
and pinned them against a blank
sheet of paper
nothing sticks quite right the first
time so I gathered them together
and sealed them in a chrysalis
where they slowly evolved into
my own creation
(I tried returning the borrowed
thoughts to their original owners
but they all refused delivery)
new words gradually emerge
out of an abbreviated hibernation
and from there I cut and copy
and delete and tweet
and paste paste paste
all the way down easy street
but of course if it was easy
everyone would be doing it
running across backyards
and open fields
swinging butterfly nets
at their ever elusive thoughts
october two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
in your free time bright ideas
arise out of thin air
and fizzle into nothingness
more often than not
trial and error leads you
tossing your thoughts to the birds
and you wonder if they will feed on them
or regurgitate them like earthworms
but if you’re industrious enough
you can incubate them
study them
nurture them
transform them with
wood and glue and nails
on lazy weekend afternoons
you sit and listen to birds happily
singing to their little ones
and you realize it’s best
to deconstruct your inner thoughts
and rebuild them into something
better than before
july two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
the room trembled with silence
as i sat alone on the high chair
punching keys and the space bar
with fingers and thumbs
moments earlier the silence
was interrupted with the clip clip clipping
of the fingernail clipper
and i remember thinking
what a masterful invention it was
as i purposely cut the left hand nails
much shorter than the right
the room’s silence grew louder
with terrible thoughts racing out of my mind
ricocheting off the walls and ceiling and floor
before returning to my fingers
and magically appearing on the plasma screen
i remember thinking it was such an awful silence
as tears of joy swelled in my eyes
my fingers racing millions of miles per millisecond
traveling beyond space and time
before crashing beautifully
into this alien creation
october two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 