Darren C. Demaree

All the Birds Are Leaving  #79

I am learning
more

not to compare
anything

to fruit,
especially time

which arrived
before us,

ripe
& arrived

ready to leave
the vine,

almost an oil
already,

we were born
mid-flight

in a bath
of spoil,

but that’s why
I am learning

to love
everything,

even as it turns
into the smell

of having been.

All the Birds Are Leaving #80

How tremendous
the fury

of the dial
that was turned

many times
before

& that now,
we are counting

as an animal
we can return

to spring
& keep there

forever.
Ding. Let’s

begin again.
This time

was my time
& there is no

cold wine
that can extend

my meal
into the next.

All the Birds Are Leaving #81

Skimming
for depth,
I ate small

parts of time,
tucked them
in my belly

& gave life
to nothing,
but belief

that appetite,
the behavior
of it,

dictates
less than
a mask worn

around
no holiday.
It’s something

to give into
when hands
are seasonal

demons
that shovel
light effort.

Darren C. Demaree’s poems have appeared, or are scheduled to appear in numerous magazines/journals, including The South Dakota Review, Meridian, The Louisville Review, Grist, and Whiskey Island. He is the author of As We Refer To Our Bodies (2013, 8th House), Temporary Champions (2014, Main Street Rag), and Not For Art Nor Prayer (2015, 8th House). He is the recipient of three Pushcart Prize nominations and a Best of the Net nomination. He is currently living and writing in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.
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About Posit Editor

Susan Lewis (susanlewis.net) is the Editor-in-chief and founder of Posit (positjournal.com) and the author of ten books and chapbooks, including Zoom (winner of the Washington Prize), Heisenberg's Salon, This Visit, and State of the Union. Her poetry has appeared in anthologies such as Walkers in the City (Rain Taxi), They Said (Black Lawrence Press), and Resist Much, Obey Little (Dispatches/Spuyten Duyvil), as well as in journals such as Agni, Boston Review, The Brooklyn Rail, Conjunctions online, Diode, Interim, New American Writing, and VOLT.