we’ve been skipping stones
out of the earth’s atmosphere
and getting much better at it
like across a body of water
the rock will eventually sink
mostly likely to the bottom
but seriously how much different
can it be from this advantage
compared to way way out there
august two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they tried telling me
nobody knows what happens
after the lights go out
making me chuckle
beneath my breath
knowing full well the lights
(as long as they’re not man-made)
can’t possibly ever extinguish
july two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we are ingrained in repetition
long before we were born
before then we already knew
rivers run into the sea
& stars fall from the sky
you’ve learned by way of music
how riders of the storm
were born into this lonely house
and so you close your eyes
dancing in the center of
your own universe
one in which has no ending
march two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we came from the depths of the ocean
and learned to breathe differently
one day walking upright on earth
years became decades became centuries
and soon peter would learn to catch fish
and levitate on the sea of galilee
time would accelerate undeterred
rebirth begetting evolutionary rebirth
what were once fins becoming wings
there is no final frontier here on earth
whether at the near outer edges
or beyond the unconscious universe
january two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
twenty-eight minutes
that’s all that’s left
until all the little things
orbiting around
any celestial goddess
will congeal themselves
into one great big thing
spontaneously spinning itself
out of its routine
thereby making the universe
a little more or less complex
than it already was
april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
there are too many questions and not
enough answers
but one day that will all change
you cannot determine your final demise
and it would be foolish to try
it might be best not to think about the chicken
or egg while crossing any particular
milestone or county line
maybe money makes it all better
but then again probably not
may in fact ultimately complicate things
blind innocence enticed by quiet greed
there is this great chase as big or bigger
than anything revolving in the universe
and there you are
in the thick of things
finally getting answers
may two thousand seventeen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
high speeds through clouds made of ice
wings molting then unraveling
hands grasping for someplace to land
as bodies busily spin in darkness
like lost souls in space mountains
with no time for substantive thoughts to evolve
time stands still for a matter of forever
twisted turning steel opens triangular windows
disappears into a brand new universe
while every living thing in its path
expands and contracts like a comet’s tail
breaking apart only to reconnect
february two thousand fifteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
they say there is no setting
or rising of the sun
they say it is always there
and it’s just your imagination
that sometimes it is not
with that in mind I stood at the
doorstep and handed a child
paper and markers and
asked her to interpret the
world as she knew it
from inside her mind she drew
countless circles orbiting
infinite stars
and every now and then
she placed a new moon
where you’d least expect it
I wondered how many of her
suns supported life as we know it
and as I was about to ask her
she told me she needed
more space and time
september two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
by Daniella Sciuto & J Matthew Waters
I drew these lines ages ago without
understanding the consequences
and my desire to protect them
weakened as time wore on
I sketched these images
fast frenetic murals on the wall
portraying all my doubts
concerning this world
and myself
and then I lived on
each day passing by
these lines remained unchanged
concealed by a thin layer of imagination
I crossed the line into a new
form of reality
regaining my strength by
becoming one with creation
drawn across the land
yet the pull of these lines
that basis of all
beyond the veil of life
influenced everything
no matter how much I whitewashed
my tabula rasa was not pure
and I found myself
redrawing the lines
found myself starting all over again
this is how it both
ends and begins
with poetry written
rewritten and rewritten again
layers upon meanings
upon words
with us forever
redrawing the lines
starting all over again
whilst the ghosts of poems past
influence everything
september two thousand fourteenl
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
those stars we used to wish upon
the ones first appearing in the twilight
or the ones falling from the
sky while sitting on the front porch step
where have they gone
now when you need them the most
sometimes I think of a certain star
that shined so bright it had no choice
but to crash and burn in some
remote forest you’ve never heard
those are the kinds of stars I miss the most
this universe is nothing but a free verse
poem with a little sizzle and endless syllables
spherically rotating around your ever
expanding mind
your inner child
charting the course of events
of every single moving object
december two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
I look at pictures of people
from all across the world
and I see the look in their eyes
and say to myself
they are just like me
and then I am reminded
of a good friend
I’ve not seen in ages
who once told me
how much he admired
the individuality of my mind
from there I imagine
collective thoughts make up
the universe as we know it
and without me pinging
this particular poem
the whole thing could implode
june two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
when i was a butterfly
i floated with the best of them
from country meadow
to urban garden
my world an eternal adventure
of technicolor and sound
when i was a butterfly
children chased me with their nets
but my keen instincts
evaded their hopes
of ever capturing the beauty
forever felt in their hearts
when i was a butterfly
every day was like a dream
of first impressions
repeating themselves
toward an expanding evolution
of psychedelic freedom
january two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
faces of friend and foe
come and go
but i must live on
using my own eyes
to scan the universe
and examine my soul
i hear of things
both good and bad
from those i think i know
but i am not to judge
what is not mine
for i must deal
with eternity
on my own terms
i imagine what happens
in three dimensions
will take on new meaning
once riding my pale horse
off into the sunset
september two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 