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.

Comments

More...

Lighter Than Air

Lighter Than Air - acrylic painting by Douglas Brent Smith, November 1976. Notes: I don't have every painting I've ever painted. Some years ago I purged many of them. I like this one, though, and have it hanging in my apartment. It's whimsical. It's a painting in a painting. It has a top hat. It has balance, a candle, even a drop of blood. What else could you want in a painting?

Density

Density by Douglas Brent Smith

Creating on Illusion

Creating on Illusion - collage by Douglas Brent Smith Where's the illusion? What sleight of hand do we focus on? I think that I made this collage in 1989. That was so long ago and yet, in terms of illusions, not long at all. What do you think?

Deep Thinker Thinking

Deep Thinker Thinking, drawing by douglas Brent smith, December 2001, from Journal #35, Mission Control, Volume Two, 2001 - 2002. Drawing helps me think. Thinking, sometimes, draws me to draw. It amazes me how few adults draw at all. Somewhere along the line in childhood they just stopped. We should all draw more and more often. Pencil, pen, crayon, whatever you've got. Instead of scrolling tonight, spend that time drawing a picture. Instead of wasting your time and feeling bad about it you've have a picture you can feel good about. It doesn't have to be great, it just has to be yours.

Back Inner Cover

Back Inner Cover of Journal #33, Life In Progress, by Douglas Brent Smith, A collage that's not exactly a typical collage. It's what I often do with the back inner covers of my journals -- simply randomly put stickers, stamps, name tags, and other sticky objects.

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.

Under The Hood

Under the Hood I wanted to be a gear-head. I just never had the tools or the chops for it. But cars have always been fun and I've usually been a Chevy guy. Oh, I've wandered into lots of interesting cars and owned a few. What was your first car? Did you name it? This 1966 Chevy Impala SuperSport was my first car. I'm sure that I paid too much for it because I paid what the guy was asking. I didn't know any better and I really wanted that car. It was fast. It was sporty. And, gasp - it had an 8-track stereo. You have to imagine the joys of listening to "Dark Side of The Moon" on an 8-track that had to fade-out and click-thru to the next track even if the song wasn't finished. Not the medium for Pink Floyd, that's for sure. But Elton John and Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck sounded just great, tooling down the road. I've had other great cars, too: 1966 Volkswagen Beetle (this was my dad's but he was willing to trade cars wh...

Collage: In Whispers and Visions Unending

Collage by douglas brent smith, created 4 November 1979 from the book and performance piece: "the path of destiny takes the scenic route" You may use this image if you provide attribution.

Chaos In The Middle

Chaos In The Middle - sketch by douglas brent smith (with help from Christopher Morgan Cizewski Smith.

douglas brent smith

Search This Blog