Stephen Mathews

Stephen Mathews Author of THE AGE OF A LOBSTER (2023) | literary fiction & poetry | Best Indie Book Award Finalist | My body may be landlocked, but my mind is coastal

Stephen writes to showcase the moments in life that define the individual.

The world came first because it had to. The beasts, gods, and creatures of Eden came after and were made for no other pu...
03/02/2026

The world came first because it had to. The beasts, gods, and creatures of Eden came after and were made for no other purpose than to breathe and keep breathing by any means necessary.

What kind of beast would I bein a land before highways or regimen meals?The land would be gentle, I’d hope,for a beast l...
02/17/2026

What kind of beast would I be
in a land before highways or regimen meals?
The land would be gentle, I’d hope,
for a beast like me would move slowly.
Sunlight would mean more than the morning,
and the afternoon would keep me in mind, so
if I were a beast before money was a god,
then nighttime, too, would be calm.

What kind of beast could I hope to be now?
What chance is there for a beast with no callus,
no claws and no fangs — only eyes for the window pane;
soft hands on the guardrail —
and if being a beast is a thing I could be,
why do my senses lead me to supermarkets and thrill rides
and not to the nature I’m from?
— like the beetle who found themself on my bathroom tile
away from the garden and sunlight and freedom.

If all of my freedom is folded up under the wings of a beetle,
What kind of beast would that make me?

Old photo, new perspectives. I walk around town with loud music to disconnect from the influential worlds, but I haven’t...
02/16/2026

Old photo, new perspectives. I walk around town with loud music to disconnect from the influential worlds, but I haven’t gone for a walk in a long time. I haven’t written in a long time either. It was winter, sure, but it was also apathy, depression, distraction, and fear.

I’m walking again and I’m writing again as a ward against apathy, depression, distraction, and fear.

“The Deer” by Gustave Courbet
02/13/2026

“The Deer” by Gustave Courbet

It’s the first snowfall of winter, and as I drive home from work, I am reminded of how mystical this life really is. In ...
12/03/2025

It’s the first snowfall of winter, and as I drive home from work, I am reminded of how mystical this life really is. In the summer, all of these trees are green and flowering, and now they are just as beautiful, even after having lost it all. Vibrant or dormant, this life is beautiful and still.

Sea glass.
11/30/2025

Sea glass.

It’s that we espresso ✨ love you 🤎
11/29/2025

It’s that we espresso ✨ love you 🤎

There are indents in the shoesThat I bought second handWorn in by the feet of the man prior to me.I will walk a mile in ...
11/28/2025

There are indents in the shoes
That I bought second hand
Worn in by the feet of the man prior to me.
I will walk a mile in his shoes
And learn nothing of his life;
A mile in his shoes
With no lessons.
#2025

It’s weird to say, but I felt more “myself” before I tried so hard to make something of myself. The creative projects, t...
11/16/2025

It’s weird to say, but I felt more “myself” before I tried so hard to make something of myself. The creative projects, the lessons learned from mistakes, the self-worth analysis and body/self dynamics — all of these things that are built into us so that we can navigate and express the human we are. Well I’m thirty now, and I can’t be more excited to peel all of this excess away and discover more about what makes me who I am.

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday and thank you to those who make growth not only bearable, but a delight 💙

This is my favorite holiday. I mean, it has to be at this point, right? Crazy that I feel the most seen and the most mys...
10/31/2025

This is my favorite holiday. I mean, it has to be at this point, right? Crazy that I feel the most seen and the most myself during the season of thin veils and ghoulish disguises. Monsters, shadows, porch ghosts — we got ‘em all, and really, that’s alright. Maybe when the summer comes, our demons will shrink in the sun, but for now, we will continue to carve smiles into gourds and hug our monsters in the lamplight.

Happy Halloween to the little me inside of me who is still washing all the pumpkin guts off

🖤 💀 🖤 Thanks for the pics !
10/31/2025

🖤 💀 🖤
Thanks for the pics !

🎃 some Halloween fun!
10/30/2025

🎃 some Halloween fun!

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San Clemente, CA
92672–92674

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