grand canyon

she shared some details

of the road trip with

the teen in a van

not too many intense

infraction type details

it was fill in the blanks

with too much thinking

heart wrenching imagination

like why would two people

in a van driving together

sharing inside secrets and

cheap road food not be

more than she said

playing a players game

of silence and selective

facts believable whether deceivable

or not who could know

she met a native american guide

entering the great grand canyon

already ahead of her hiking

below the entertainer chevy chase

working up his best sweat

"losing weight for a part," he told her

he seemed nice she told me

she, so sun tanned

deeply in pain

followed the guide's instructions

scaling the canyon, seeking and

finding her peace on her own

in shorts and a shirt

a weight loss plan of her own

for that burn in her heart

immune from her lotions

medicines and potions

yet falling away as she scaled

deeper to release the one-hundred-and-ninety

pounds of disappointment

the guide set her free

with a nod for the tip

and when she returned

freedom felt better than the pain

sending her away again

without the boy

without me

free.

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Wild Towers

Wild Towers -- collage by Douglas Brent Smith Notes: In the lower right corner is one of my favorite photos -- my brother Dave and me at Grandmom and Grandpop Rogers' house. If you look closely you can see Grandpop Rogers sitting in his chair. He was probably reading the newspaper, the Bridgeton Evening News. It was a great newspaper in those days and Grandpop read it front to back every night. There are more clear versions of this picture, probably even in other collages because I love it so much. Those were wonderful days and I miss my little brother so much.

Note to Self 20230423

If you keep working your craft you will be amazed at how much you've learned and how much more there is yet to learn. -- doug smith

Gears of Joy

Gears of Joy, collage by Douglas Brent Smith This is page 305 of Journal #33, Life in Progress.

Why Gamble?

The less we make our world look like a casino the better off we'll be. -- Doug smith Notes: Just for fun, I added this collage. It is not a casino.

Bugs In The System

Bugs In The System, collage, mixed media by Douglas Brent Smith

The Towers of Vettunder

The Towers of Vettunder - painting by Douglas Brent Smith, acrylic. This one feels like another cover to a science fiction novel. In the 70's I might have tried to write that book. Maybe it's not too late.

Horse Named Hannah

the horse got free in a galloping hurry needed something to read and a tall cup of milk I did post this earlier under the title "Who Let the Horse In." Here it is again. Horse Named Hannah -- sketch by douglas brent smith, 1998, from Journal #33, Life In Progress

Framed By A Notion

Framed By A Notion, Collage by douglas Brent smith, 1996

This Is Not A Code

This Is Not A Code -- collage by douglas brent smith

With Every Available Device

With Every Available Device -- painting by Douglas Brent Smith, December 1976. This is another of the series of acrylic paintings that I did in Oak Lawn, IL, living with Mom and Jack for a brief few months. My favorite art movement is surrealism, and this one clearly emulates the work of the surrealists, in particular Yves Tanguy . When I moved from Colorado to Newtown in 2016 I threw away a number of my paintings, many from this period of time. I did not like them enough to keep them, I guess although I feel some regret at heaving them, one can't save everything and I live in an apartment that's about 600 square feet. No real storage room. This one survived the cut.

douglas brent smith

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