Of course when the phones got dirty, we just hosed them down.
-- doug smith
don't tense up on me now,
all of my cards are marked
scarred from handling bent
at the edges
i'm playing several suits at once
none a perfect fit
no aces up my sleeve
don't quit don't leave
read them and grieve
i'm weary of your silence
duplicity dulling our electricity
whispers like screaming
read your hand plead your hand
bid or pass i'm faster than you think
holding my queen of hearts
with a secret message
better play your hand and hurry
now
before the queen finds her jack
and there's no turning back.
-- douglas brent smith
if i were a hippopotamus
i'd never wear a suit
because one would never fit
be chic or even cute
if i were a hippopotamus
apart from where the rest go
sitting alone in my hippo home
i'd chat on the phone with Ionesco.
--- douglas brent smith
somewhere a special lady
speaks my name
smiling and remembering some
soft magic moments
that turned the world on wheels
to a happy tune
while
someplace here this dreamer
thinks of her
grinning that glorious grin
weaving that wonderful touch
into a golden design
of unmistakable beauty
and caring.
-- douglas brent smith
in the distance
far beyond my reach
sits a curious quizzical lady
reflecting on
near misses and
wet kisses and
tardy attempts to connect
beat shaded under-rated
near-miss exchanges
sharing these changes
as time slips from us
while clouds, rain, thunder
sweeps over keeping
distances prim
far turns trim
blinking in the flash thinking
we cannot know how
to go
now to hear
one of our voices sing
what only wisdom brings
there's time enough for knowing.
-- douglas brent smith
all of her goldfish died
she bought one each day
at the exotic pet shop filled
with fish who eat fish
she put the stranger in a bowl
watched it swim around
went to class
came back finding the fish
floating motionless at the top
dead each day
so she gave up fish for plants
placed in her window
they reached for the sun gracefully
willing and as if pulled madly
trembled, withered, wandered toward death
as if strangled by some invisible
plant canceler
oblivious to all this
she grasped my trusting hand and
led me to her dormitory bed
and in the morning
wondered why
i hadn't died.
-- douglas brent smith
my tongue once tense relaxes
prodding a voice grown resonant
when seeking to impress you
standing there hiding
from my nuance from those hints
of what might be for you and me
a new way of singing
reveal yourself your will your
firm resolve not tempted beyond
but pulled from within
go ahead and hide yourself
those firm breasts those
long legs those changeable
strange eyes
those deeply thought sighs
save it, turn away, i do not
care any more my wooden voice
speaks perfect platitudes of logic
aloof alone independent calm
even though
if your no became oh...yes
we could discover
what our tongues do best.
-- douglas brent smith
the kids don't care they say
strap them down with boulders
place flames upon their shoulders
cause the kids don't care
the code has faded somewhere
all the punitive measures
tied to worthless treasures
when the kids don't care
the kids don't care we see
when we fill them up with pap
who's the queen and who's the sap?
when the kids don't care.
-- douglas brent smith
Temporary love teaches us to survive the temporary and to thrive in the moment. Given that, we may find that it's not temporary after all...
-- doug smith
the prospect of dreams
dwindling idly
so much smoke gladly
burned
spent offerings
proffered to spirits
unseen uncaring
shaking sudden hours
of time loose
changing loose change
to dreams of its own
so dance this way dear
with your reflection
in my glasses and your breath
on my lips
secrets shared are
no less lasting
and no more distant
than the sweet soft sound
of yes.
douglas brent smith
your heart sheds tears to me
never for me
as if i were your psychiatrist
of love
wise in the ways of your wanting
though absent from the joys
you feel lost
listen...
i once chased a butterfly for an hour
hoping it would remain free
dancing there with me
letting it land in my hand
and know me
because the moon knows
and the stars know
and this butterfly knows
that though free and skittish
and uncommitted
our love is never lost
but aloft on butterfly wings.
douglas brent smith
of course there were thousands
of rational even dramatic
reasons why we would
never work out or
remain together like
gravity i keep falling for you like
fate untested and irresistible because
that voice those eyes that nonstop dancing and
because
you could tie a cherry stem
with your tongue.
douglas brent smith
