Emily as a Disruptive and Meditative Work

In the tooth, a new language

becomes long gone. Emily works

& lightning follows. The revolution squirms

& we bring it to bed with us.

Hope rests on our active tongues.

We get to be selfish.

It’s us that will swallow this world

to save this world.

Let us have some fun with it.

I knew that if I studied her long enough

even the orders of service

would start to get a little sexier.

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Darren C. Demaree is the author of twenty-four poetry collections, most recently Now Flourish Northern Cardinal, (Small Harbor Publishing, November 2025).  He is the recipient of a Greater Columbus Arts Council Grant, 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 currently working in the Columbus Metropolitan Library system.