douglas brent smith

Stars stream madly across the frozen sky sending drops of passion into the pathways of                                  our wings unmasked unfolded                                  we yearn for the mystery painted on the faces of leaping lovers of circus grips and tunesmiths sing, push, and pull the lever once pulled overrides all the rules the camera once flashed disappears with a crash the secret once known leaves the lover alone. douglas brent smith  

  Space Fish Nothing spectacular, just a fish in space who has swallowed a space station and is apparently surrounded by black holes. Oh, and an orbiting top hat, too. douglas brent smith 

oh lovely lady locked into real world rollers with past tense terrors run off with me somewhere like the mountains of Colorado where we'll build a log cabin right next to  our own peak while the snow falls, the sun rises and the television set's blue glow flows on we'll sing all day long and in the evening keep each other warm. douglas brent smith ------------- Note: When I wrote this, possibly in 1975, I had no idea that I would actually some day live in Colorado. Life can be funny like that. It wasn't in a log cabin, and it wasn't with the lover in this poem, but there was an interesting symmetry to the adventure.

  After Escher's Stairway Hands Up The cover to Journal #8 Study for the set design to The Great Brain Robbery, a play Sketch of Annie, 1975 Tower Sketch The Pilot Was Surprised Looking

we settle slowly into silence softly pouring the drops of recognition into each other's eyes with all the warmth we can hold stirring in our collective heart with a dream we had searched for passion open arms, seeking understanding wide eyes brilliant vision of a sharing so full it would flow and with delight announce its discovery you touching me touching you. douglas brent smith  

  Study for the set design for "The Mysteries of Love" by douglas brent smith So far, this play has not been written. 

that valentine's day i sent flowers to two people was not the first time even though it carried more drama and it was not because i could not decide but because i did not feel the need to love either any less but because you did not see it that way once discovered it did not turn out quite as i expected are you still angry? douglas brent smith  

there's a spot on her cheek an ash perhaps a mere smudge she's not aware of we all see it so quietly, i tell her turning suddenly she wipes it clean erasing any embarrtassment and returns to the task at hand counting her cards circles below our eyes declare that morning is near as the factory waits tomorrow day shift of all days and we can't call out again or we'll be let go for good the lights fade as the sun rises warning about duties as it shows the disheveled house i stretch out on the floor wondering what it could be like to share her bed i hear her turn off the water and close her door a pronounced decisive click birds welcome morning i blow out the last candle as the house grows quiet with Bob on the couch and Dave in the recliner and me on the floor and my love in her bed i second guess her thoughts as i hear her shuffle counting her cards. douglas brent smith

sometimes by chance by luck or by design we find real people moving along matching lines cruise to connecting music smile at marvelous magic sometimes we stumble onto a carnival of dreams so mellow and alive so easy and free yes, sometimes we wander with love waiting eagerly douglas brent smith  

that sudden electricity which you so innocently offered without pretense or guilt (a day we both remember)    then, carefully took away reverberates within that part of us that we cannot control and returns with dreams veiled over and keeps a steady hold if by some chance you choose to chase another's amorous embrace remember there're no secrets now i see it in your face you know i'll never force a smile or make it something new but if my love is not enough it's still my gift to you. douglas brent smith  

  Drawing:  Top Hat Journey , by douglas brent smith from Journal #7,  The Eclectic Trance Dance , 1974

with bold looks we invented invisible affairs unspoken yet more obvious as each melody played and  each game unfurled dare we touch? or would that break the spell? transcending normal expectations for a time any arrangement anything was possible like a floating shimmery bubble fragile then gone. douglas brent smith