Darren C. Demaree

BLACK & WHITE PICTURE #22

To lie
& say

that you will not hurt
would be

to take the sexy
out of the bee

sting
& to ignore

the dying flower
that follows.

To lie
& say

that your heart
will not break,

that I
will not break

your heart
would be

to combine
our wishes

& deny
the nature

of all fathers
& all children.

BLACK & WHITE PICTURE #23

Some of us, some of us
are frozen lakes
filled with shithouse flies
& some of us are thick
boots that can take the ice
& feces like easy gravel.
There is an element
of danger with so much
water & so much cold
in our lungs,
but have no fear,
I’ve given up smoking
& I will have plenty
of capacity left to fill you
like a parade balloon
& watch you float away
& watch you rise above
where my feet have been.

Author Bio

Darren C. Demaree has been published most recently in the South Carolina Review, Meridian, Prick of the Spindle, California Quarterly, and Caffeine Destiny. He is finishing his Masters in Creative Writing at Miami University.