jdubqca

poetry by j matthew waters

Archive for the tag “time”

10 May 2024

An unintelligent device


I was thinking about the clock
how he said it was made in Korea
that he couldn’t read
the instructions that came with it

Over time he learned
how to make it work properly

It was a handsome clock
featuring day & time
sunrise & sunset
but what stood out to me
was how he said it wasn’t smart

One day it lay on the couch
in the living room
lifeless & undisturbed
somewhat like a stillborn baby

I remember him distinctly shouting
‘don’t touch it’

It’s just resting he went on to say
I couldn’t muster the strength
to place it back on the wall

And so in the morning
we got it back on the wall
back hanging on the set screw
day & time
sunrise & sunset
back to where it should be


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
09 May 2024
2 Comments

gradual pull


we live in a vacuum
the suction excruciatingly slow
you don’t ever notice
at least not when you’re alive
and in good health

it’s like a reverse form of gravity
picking away at the skin
eventually bone
it’s how a stone’s face
reinvents itself time & again

what’s lost is unlikely lost
simply misplaced
like a memory or birthday wish
tugging on your hemline
temporarily elusive


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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
20 Oct 2023

the dying winds of war


who do you love
when you are alone at sea
one sail & one body
—pieces of teak & cedar

space is like water
clusters of stars your next
destination
one wave after another

soon peace will be restored
—like never before
celebrations will erupt
throughout the lands

from the sea you make out
millions of candles
assembled along the shoreline
the dying winds of war
making them flicker





october two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry, War Poems and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
14 Sep 2023
3 Comments

pocket watch


she bought me
a present
a small box
about the size of a fist
off-white w/a small lid
a red bow on top

I smiled & craned my neck
toward her mouth
our lips touching briefly
—a quick kiss

the world as I knew it
resided in that box
a timeless treasure
inside its own space
like a pearl
or a memory
like a diamond in the rough

aren’t you going to open
it she asked
—and what would be the point
in that I replied





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
29 Jul 2023

premonition


time is slowing
leaking from my body
I can feel it
like a premonition
knowing without understanding
how soon I will be like a stone
on the bottom of a river
anonymous & inanimate
—unseen by the naked eye





july two thousand twenty-three
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Micropoetry, Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
10 May 2023
1 Comment

outliving scarce resources


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

Posted in Nature, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
30 Dec 2022
2 Comments

the press conference


it’s widely known
there’s no time to lose
yet the urgency
in matters of great importance
seems to matter not
afterall

the reverberation
of inaction
rarely stands to reason
instead sucking up time
as if it’s of no
particular consequence

the sheriff
was quoted as saying
the murder case
would never go cold
simply because time was on
his side





december two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
25 Dec 2022
2 Comments

behind blue eyes


inside your watercolor eyes
people temporarily forget
their once weighty
earthly worries

behind your blue eyes
a calmness exists
lighting the way in this
never-ending journey

past your failing eyes
time never dies
reinventing itself
into a stand alone tree





december two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
01 Nov 2022
2 Comments

an unlikely analog


I am not what I seem
a broken clock on a shelf
stuck at 11:19 and 19 seconds

it matters not if it’s morning
or night
the broken do not know
the difference
and if they tell you that they do
they are liars

when time abruptly stood still
I learned to walk about
without having to use my legs
spending hours inside the cathedral
deciding which station
I loved the best
and hated the most

[impossible
I would tell myself
for without time
there can be no hours]

I once believed they were
angels
communicating with me
in a language of vibrations
one I learned to comprehend
all on my own

but now
I am not so sure





november two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , ,
13 Sep 2022

the proposition


just give it time she said
and walked away
[never to be seen]
perhaps a paradox
I remember thinking
but gave no vocal response

ever since I’ve crossed the desert
sailed & flew & climbed
finding a few solitary places
—for there is no place
to be but alone
when silently
agreeing to give it time





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , | Leave a comment
07 May 2022

standing the test of time


passing the test of time
is an impossible endeavor
if ever there was one

let’s dig into the past
explanations
layered one after another
facts & tidbits
clues & black holes
striking gold
unfolding new worlds

there is no time there

and when you’re weighed
down by the body
it’s critical to keep the
big picture
into perspective

in fact it’s essential
that you’ll not tell a soul
what it is you know
and precisely when
it’s going to happen





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
05 May 2022

time bleeds


time bleeds
pauses for no reason
and a scab forms

people come & go
and I am right there
intermingling amongst them
not really thinking
simply doing
like a dedicated army ant

time bleeds
stopping by applying
pressure
making origami
tourniquets
shutting it down
at least temporarily

time bleeds
a passed on genetic defect
a character flaw
an embarrassment having
to leave the show
for no apparent reason

incapable of discovering
the beginning or the end
I’ll not retire the thought
that what I don’t yet know
will one day be revealed





may two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
17 Apr 2022

loved to death


isn’t it always a matter of time
before the next big thing
whether cutting edge or horrific
the wait is far from long

isn’t it wild how a glorious idea
can be conjured in solitude
and distributed worldwide
by way of an invisible wire

isn’t it a crazy kind of love
that hits you smack in the face
when looking the other way
leaving you breathless





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , , | Leave a comment
05 Oct 2021
4 Comments

Bartering for time


In the photograph nothing changes
it’s what separates images from reality
and laughter from tears

Sometimes it gets ugly inside
‘a winter of discontent’ if you will
but you must face it head on
repeating mantras & bad daydreams
knowing full well the latest malaise
will somehow pass
undetected

Nobody knows you anymore
and you’re perfectly fine with that
working in the underground
chipping away by
rewriting history
courtesy of some distant energy





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,
14 Sep 2021

surviving the night


dating with time
the forever young man
dances with the ancient princess
gray-haired & lithe

the night could not
possibly last forever
or so she whispers in his ear
seducing a smile

but of course he has
countless memories
having survived the rise & fall
of many an empire





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

Posted in Poetry and tagged , , | Leave a comment
01 Sep 2020
2 Comments

undoing the end of time


I imagine as the years pass
change appears to quicken its pace
when in fact all along it’s been this way
from the very start

people are passionate by nature
though by many varying degrees
hiders & seekers alike
attempting to vainly save themselves
or selflessly saving others

we can stampede much faster
than one or twenty horses
kicking up dirt & turning the landscape
into a horizontal blur
or methodically slow things down
to a virtual crawl
wiping clear the skies & undoing
the end of time




september two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved

Posted in Poetry and tagged , ,

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