THE FOURTH CHILD
When the liquid thickens
hope commands the action
be more than a light loam
& when the crop rises
from that too fertile ground
we cannot help consuming it.
JANUARY 22, 1931
Even the Mississippi Delta
possesses a caped heart
& everything that is used to
flooding, floods in joy
& deconstructs in joy
as well. Some floods, though,
simply wash the legs
of a child clean
& that is the opposite
of a shipwreck.
That constant
ebb spreads to cape
another heart,
spreads to protect joy,
to let the man find song.
OUT OF THESE ELEMENTS
Eyes pour more hot
into the field
that never grows men,
but is always willing
to bury them
like expired seed.
The train whistle
buries men as well,
but that is a better story.
Darren C. Demaree is the author of five poetry collections, most recently The Nineteen Steps Between Us (2016, After the Pause). He is the Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology. Currently, he is living in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.