by Darren C. Demaree

Belief is squishy. Spring begins before rain
can mark the path past the fallen oak that could
not survive the winter. I look for Emily

in the simplicity of each angle. I look for doubt
& I find none. I own no stone. All the night
there are chimes I hear beyond myself.

There are some things you say three times,
but there is only one place prayer can be
heard by whatever god has constructed Emily.

Darren C. Demaree is the author of twenty-five full-length poetry collections, most recently “Got There: Poems on Vanishing”, (April Gloaming Publishing, April 2026). 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.