in the garage my dad
& three older brothers
standing silently looking up at the sky
I walk my schwinn 5-speed
up the driveway
I stop halfway look back & upward
at the yellow & brown sky
eyes squinting
thinking to myself someone
must be dying
november two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
cancellations and closings
scrolling ad nauseum
alphabetically directly below
animated weather map
the snow never came
like they said it would
though the freezing rain
arrived unexpectedly
sleeting sideways and relentlessly
coating every single wire and branch
from here until next tuesday
putting the city and her
satellites out of commission
there’ll be no welfare checks
not tonight or tomorrow or
maybe ever again
the powers that be giving way
to unapologetic anarchy
all because of a little weather
january two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
we talked about the weather
how it would destroy us all
how it would appear out of nowhere
and blow away our dreams
just when everything seemed
to be falling into place
we spent hours catching up on time
that never really belonged to us
that somehow tricked us into thinking
seasons forever cycle
in the end all we could talk about
was the weather
and then we went our separate ways
november two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
it snowed all night
and in the morning I went to look
for my boots
so I could shovel the drive
what the hell is it doing
snowing in springtime
I complained to the woman
sitting on the couch with pencil
in hand
she shrugged her shoulders
and put her face
back in the sudoku
you know you’re supposed
to do those things in pen
just like the crossword puzzle
I said
she lifted her eyes
and stretched her arm straight at me
the pencil an extension
of her middle finger
you know she said
if you’re looking for your boots
I sold them on amazon
last month
now get the hell out of my house
march two thousand thirteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
nobody knows what the weather
is like in iowa
just like they don’t know gigantic
potatoes only grow in idaho
in january it’s so damn cold here
the cows don’t move
so it’s easy to walk right up to them
and snap photograph after photograph
there are no metropolises in iowa
just little towns
with a post office and a tavern
where you can tie your horse to a post
in the winter the winds blows so cold
it leaves you shivering
until march when the sun penetrates
the earth and reality begins to blossom
december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
peering out my window
clouds gather around
and darken
a once promising
bright day
blackbirds circle above
slowly descending
and squawking
instinctively finding
shelter
thunder murmurs and moans
and i close my eyes
suppressing
a distant memory
knocking
once the showers arrive
i gaze past the pane
your image
refreshing like the rain
falling
december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
i’m in love with the weather woman
but i’m afraid to let her know
i love how she tells me
when my sun will shine
and when the rain
will soak my thoughts
with impossible dreams
and when the wind
will blow my blues away
i’m in love with the weather woman
but i’m afraid if she knew
she would concoct a storm
and send me tumbling away
like some insignificant snowflake
december two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
We drove through the cemetery
in the dead of winter
until we found the blue canopy
flopping in the wind
Many inches of snow had fallen
the night before but the plow
had cleared the lanes
A bright sun and dress shoes
hit the asphalt with purpose
As many as a hundred faces
converged on the canopy
in steadfast silence
Gusts of wind arrived from the west
and tossed snow off the roof
and onto the gatherers
Familiar prayers were recited
between coughs and sniffles
and one woman’s weeping
When a bugler played
a familiar lullaby
the vacant faces drifted
in varying directions
whispers of sorrow filling the air
january two thousand twelve
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 