J Matthew Waters
paper tigersonce the children moved out
demons moved in disguised as paper tigers roaming from room to room their emerald eyes shined from the darkest corners of the night reminding me of a love I once had I fed them sad stories in exchange for my life but their promises of light I could not fathom I asked them kindly to leave my world but they curled where the winter sun shined through glass in the spring I found strength to unfold and reshape keeping the demons at bay as paper angels hanging artificial visitationssadness used to show up
unannounced and we’d sit up until sunrise drinking whatever was left in the house I kept telling myself the next time he appeared out of nowhere I wouldn’t let him in but of course that didn’t happen and he continued to pretend to be my friend I told him I was thinking about buying a brand new puppy a black one I said so I could learn how to keep him at bay and teach him to protect me from monsters like him keeping the peaceshe was an unlucky kind of girl
and though she wasn’t sure what that meant she loved to say it nonetheless born scorpio with pisces rising she always wondered why there wasn’t a thirteenth house one in which she could run and hide from a world spinning inwards safely tucked inside her mysteriously secretive mind she only assumes a peacekeeping role after extinguishing all other options all alleys lead to sand and salt waterwalking away from the sunset
shopping for the next place to sleep eyes remain optimistic of a tomorrow promising pay all alleys in this pacific coast city lead to sand and saltwater along the way housing is made from cardboard and wire and unfinished dreams familiar hopeful faces unite and welcome the wonders of the day their hands busily preparing to feed five thousand in search of la niñawe took the long road
to the top of the island believing by the time we got back to the ocean your father would be gone pausing along the way we listened to the distant waves while lying on our backs nibbling on treats and pretending the clouds flew like pink elephants the rhythm of the water slowly put us to sleep our dreams commingling as your father’s footfalls echoed ever closer
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Boomerang ☊He started telling me things
little things I had no business knowing After a while the little things mixed with the big things and soon the important things seemed to not matter so much Every day for over two thousand I did nothing but live alone with my own thoughts Of course I continued to enjoy chocolate kisses and group therapy and kite flying When he rescued me from voluntary confinement I screamed incoherently while riding on the back of his fifty horses hair blowing back horizontally arms raised and flailing Now after so many years since time has turned around and I find myself drifting and regressing but succeeding at exorcising my very own demons three day weekend
she left her stockings hanging
in the shower leading me to believe she would be back but I knew she wouldn’t be back there wasn’t much food left in the house but I didn’t feel much like eating anyway after a few days I talked myself into believing they were just a gift so I tucked them away somewhere she might find them lennon's cat
this cat lived with us for about a year
and she was far out she spoke many languages and loved to recite poetry while sipping on herbal tea we loved to listen to her stories about how she always caught her mouse or made the dude next door shit his pants one day she left the house and never came back we just figured she needed a break before spending the rest of her lives at the dakota new moon rising ☊we walked between the lake
and the rail yards smoking cigarettes and spitting on century old ties wondering if the midnight train would arrive on time it was a year ago tonight marshall died on these very tracks attempting to escape his own restlessness his dream of starting a new life in st louis or kansas city or santa fe seemingly interrupted we made a fire like we always do and sat in a circle our voices as quiet as stones skipping on water our karma just a little off kilter one of us asking rhetorically why there is no moon |
