I threw fire
once. Now,
I keep it all.
 
I bet I make
the news
when I finally
 
go up with-
out a bone
of pity.
 
 
____
Darren C. 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 and writing in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.
 
Photography by William C. Crawford.