topeka tollway

from the bizarre ensemble album Bizarre Universe!

i composed and recorded this in a hotel in topeka, ks after a long ride from someplace else.
hope you get where you're going tonight...

(c) 2017 douglas brent smith

your island

there is an island for you

more than any dream

toes in the clean warm white sand

turquoise water rushing in gently

singing softly your name

there is an island for you

satisfying and free

cabana boy bringing drinks

olga massaging your neck

whenever you call

there is an island for you

apart and above the fray of everyday

laughter touching souls

hearts sparking love with every moment

accepting, friendly, relaxed

let me be your island

your terms your time your touch

and i will hold your hand

watch the waves, and smile right there beside you

sharing our very best adventures ever.

-- douglas brent smith

Collage: Read the Dictionary Upside Down

Read the Dictionary Upside Down

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You may use this image for non-commercial purposes. Please cite it as follows:
collage: Read The Dictionary Upside Down (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: Propitious Awakenings

Propitious Awakenings

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You may use this image for non-commercial purposes. Please cite it as follows:
collage: Propitious Awakenings (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: Probably Beyond Expectations

Probably Beyond Expectations

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: probably beyond expectations (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: Lab Time

Lab Time

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: lab time (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: Hold Two Choices

Hold Two Choices

If you can hold two choices in tension long enough a third choice may emerge. And let's face it, there are always more than two choices...

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: hold two choices (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: A Penny for Your Cactus

Collage #1: A Penny For Your Cactus

This is either the first, or perhaps second collage I ever created. I think it was made in 1968 (yeah, I'm that old...) I'm happy that it's survived many moves, a house fire, epic fail relationships, and multiple careers. This is one of those I hope to never be parted from.

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: a penny for your cactus (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: Behind The Birthday Van

Behind The Birthday Van

For a while I was attracted to black & white images for the raw material of my collages. In this case, I glued what I was working on to a colorful sample of stationery. Happy Birthday, wherever you are.

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: Behind The Birthday Van (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

This is both a collage and a creative writing prompt. For a time, I experimented with creating different versions of a collage using a copy machine to duplicate the base, and then making changes in it. Sort of like a very slow motion movie. Or perhaps an indulgence. It's fun. Enjoy.

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: Alphabet Soup (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: All Hands on Deck

All Hands On Deck

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you may use this image for non-commercial purposes. please cite it as follows:
collage: All Hands On Deck (c) 2016 douglas brent smith

Collage: A Quiet Night at Home

(c) 2016 Douglas Brent Smith

Size: 81/2 x 11"
You may use this image as long as you credit the artist with this notation: "Collage by Douglas Brent Smith, (c) 2016"

Indulgence #1

Photograph: douglas brent smith (c) 2016
You may use this photo to your hearts delight.

my heart so full of you

even with the world falling apart
all i can think about
is keeping us together is
bringing us together doing over
chances to choose love that
endures purely forming storms
of passion, not disappointment
and pleasures we'd treasure
not measure against impossible pondering

such notions preoccupy me even
as you chasten me to
let go of them and declare
we're over that

we're on the same page on
so many things singing similar
songs yet wrongly irregular
on this
        i must (don't judge)
        simply kiss
you again.

again this. a kiss you and me
and see where this
leads us. and please,
trust me on this
i have your best interests at heart
and my heart
            so full of you
throbs incessantly still

agreed, we see this
                   differently
and so i'll wait and take
moment by careful moment
time with you until
i'm no longer (we're no longer)
careful and cautious but
dramatically real

how does that feel?



(c) 2016 douglas brent smith

you let go

it was everything i had
inside me
given to you
a gift you
refused, to scare me to
scar me to drop me
over that cliff, that curb
wanting to touch you to kiss you
to giggle in the sand
but
you let go of my hand

and oh oh oh you had warned me
the storm would be rough
and wow did you signal
it would not be enough

and crap did it happen
i chased without fear
but ghostlike in vapor
desire disappeared

and so like a dark fog
neglected to stand
you held and then fell and
let go of my hand


(c) 2016 douglas brent smith