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counting her cards

there's a spot on her cheek

an ash perhaps

a mere smudge she's not aware of

we all see it so

quietly, i tell her


turning suddenly she wipes it clean

erasing any embarrtassment

and returns to the task at hand

counting her cards


circles below our eyes

declare that morning is near

as the factory waits tomorrow

day shift of all days and

we can't call out again or

we'll be let go for good


the lights fade as the sun rises

warning about duties as

it shows the disheveled house


i stretch out on the floor wondering

what it could be like to share her bed

i hear her turn off the water and

close her door


a pronounced decisive click

birds welcome morning

i blow out the last candle as

the house grows quiet with

Bob on the couch and

Dave in the recliner and

me on the floor and

my love in her bed

i second guess her thoughts as

i hear her shuffle

counting her cards.





douglas brent smith


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Check Your Pockets for the Key

  Check Your Pockets for the Key - collage by douglas brent smith, 21 November 1988, paper, magazine pictures, glue.

Platform Flyer

 One of a series of mostly black and white mixed media/collage pieces with a photo-copy base.  Here's the poem that is on the facing page in the journal: we're not perfect but we are trying trying to get along to talk to touch to see each other's                           point of view we're not perfect but we have a history that is wrapped in strands of perfect moments                         perfect steps                                             perfect strings of perfect love. 23 April 1998 Platform Flyer - mixed media sketch by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress.

No Brain No Anxiety

  We didn't have a garage, our neighbors, the Amy's did. Reverend Amy and his family lived next door. That is me sitting on the Chevy, wearing a Davy Crocket hat. I was a big Davy Crocket fan and had the theme song on a yellow 45 rpm record, which of course I sang to vigorously. What's your earliest memory from childhood? No Brain No Anxiety -- collage by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Bad Presentation Habits

  People are distracted if you assemble an engine while you are making your presentation. Also, if you take photos of light posts and give them fancy names (like Howard Smith), or share tea with the ladies while the rest of the group stares in disbelief, feeling left out, feeling out of place. Is that the presentation that you intended? It wasn't easy to assemble a room filled with geniuses. Now what do you do? Bad Presentation Habits - collage by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Family Time

  "What kind of family is that?" "A family of crows perhaps. Or a family of artists in their own crow colony." "I do not think so." "Perhaps a family platform, off to a rocky start, dancing in the sun." "In the winter?" "And in the snow." "Oh." "How did family time go?" "Not so well." Family Time - sketch by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Terra Cotta

  Whatever floats your boat matters. Send yourself on a journey unique to your character, special for your strengths, resilient to your challenges.  My dad once made a canoe. He carved it out of a single piece of wood. He told me that it floated, the way a canoe should, but it leaned to one side. I never got in that canoe but I did see it. It's a gift to be able to make things out of wood, even if the first time you try it comes out a little wabi sabi. Terra Cotta - collage by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Kiss Me Goodnight

  Kiss Me Goodnight -- sketch by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress. This first version is a "cleaned-up" and censored scan. The original (but still censored) scan is below, with the notebook paper lines visible. Which one is better? I don't know.  I think maybe the original (still censored) scan. Let's just get bold enough and not censor it. I'd tabled a matching piece of paper in the upper right hand corner. Now, in the scan below, I have restored the sketch to its original form, including the bit of journal writing in the upper right hand corner. 

Amazed

  Even when we're lost there is a pattern, discoverable, discernible, mysterious. Are we being led thru that pattern, or are we creating that pattern? How can we know where we're supposed to go if we are supposed to go anywhere. Maybe it's all just happening and we are not responsible for twists, turns, and new lessons to learn. Amazed - mixed media collage by Douglas Brent Smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress.

Truth and Honesty

Wrestle with this if you will. Honesty isn't always truthful, and truth isn't always honest -- combining the two is a delicate art seldom mastered. -- doug smith