Darren Demaree | calamity

ODE TO THE CORNER OF THE DRUG HOUSE DOWN THE GRAVEL ROAD OFF THE TWO-LANE HIGHWAY #16

The imaginary birds in my pocket

refuse to sing for me anymore

& that has buried my social body.

They must be dead. I am not

willing to believe that the imaginary

cannot die. My throat tries to sing

their song. My mouth eats the grief.

My hands have been rubbing the knees

of my jeans for seven days now.

Darren Demaree is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Many Full Hands Applauding Inelegantly (2016, 8th House Publishing). He is the Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology and Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently living in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.