Darren C. Demaree
—
Emily As I Get Dressed And
The living ash
clings to me.
Coward.
Stay with her.
Drown
in the shower.
You can’t
knuckle this
day like I can,
away from her
& useless in
any damn breeze.
Emily As a Plum Flower
Either way, the horse
will be approaching
from the black river
with all those teeth
& no patience. The end
is the end. I choose
to be found with any part
of her bloom in my mouth.
I will not fumble
her gift in an attempt to
position myself separately from
my lack of understanding.
Darren C. Demaree is the author of sixteen poetry collections, most recently “a child walks in the dark”, (December 2021, Harbor Editions). He is the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Louise Bogan Award from Trio House Press, and the Nancy Dew Taylor Award from Emrys Journal.
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