I was unaccompanied when it happened. I was an apple smashed
into the lunch bag of a person who had no need for a fingerprint
from the garden. They never should have happened, I tell her.
I never should have happened. I’m okay living in that margin,
but if you ask me the same question four times I will have to lie to you.
Darren C. Demaree’s poems have appeared or are scheduled to appear in numerous journals, including Hotel Amerika, Diode, North American Review, New Letters, Diagram, and Colorado Review. He has published thirteen collections of poetry, most recently So Clearly Beautiful (Adelaide Books, 2019). He lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.
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