The first death
is easy to believe
in. The first real living
takes real time
to abandon. When
the valuing begins
we hold fast
that there is a pulse
to all of us.
That much is true.
Joy is an elegy
eating itself slowly.

***

Darren C. Demaree’s poems have appeared, or are scheduled to appear in numerous magazines/journals, including Hotel Amerika, Diode, North American Review, New Letters, Diagram, and the Colorado Review. He is the author of thirteen poetry collections, most recently ‘So Clearly Beautiful’ (November 2019, Adelaide Books). He is the Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology and Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently living and writing in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.

Back to Issue: Spring 2021