Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash
I know this is a church
or a short film
about the threshold
of a steady storm taking
place outside a church.
I know Emily is in
the fountain
in the courtyard, tensed
with joy, kicking
at the goldenrod
that replaced my longing
when she chose to be
with the water
because all I knew
was thirst. Everything
is singing when
she is wet. Everything
is a miracle when I tell
you there is no church
& no poetry, there is only
her body continuing
to rupture
the narrative of there
might be other moons,
but the only reason
my face glistens
is she makes the tide.
Darren C. Demaree is the author of eighteen poetry collections, most recently “the luxury”, (Glass Lyre, January 2023). 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. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Best of the Net Anthology and the Managing Editor of Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently living in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.