no surprise

is it any wonder our     

thoughts stack     

over-lapping on     

top of one another     

some vast library caught in     

an earthquake of     

                           dreaming     

out of order when     

was the last time you     

were truly alone?     

          

25 July 1988     

 

napkins and things

dorinda likes to doodle

daringly on napkins

unseen unnoticed by

the scramblers eating eggs

or sipping bitter coffee

sometimes she pops out a song

or sketches a summer scene

from somewhere no one's been

now here i am in Chicago

frozen to the bone

doodling on a napkin

and wishing i was home

but, lacking that i

send a pre-doodled napkin

to someone who appreciates

napkins and things.

douglas brent smith