Darren C. Demaree

15 ROUNDS OF BOXING

Marked time, fire to fire,
the consumption of fire
by fire, a creation of fear
& no fear, the voiding of fear,
a whole world built on hip
swivel, shoulder strength, hip
dealing, squaring weight to jaw,
extending luminosity to jaw
& big, risky dealings of spirit,
the heart of which is more spirit
& a ferocious will to give human
limits less limits, to take human
away from the unsparing story
of that much flesh in one story,
that finds the anti-music, life.

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Darren C. Demaree's poems have appeared, or are scheduled to appear in numerous magazines/journals, including the South Carolina Review, Meridian, The Louisville Review, Cottonwood, The Tribeca Poetry Review, and Whiskey Island. Recently, Freshwater Poetry Journal and Blue Stem have each nominated him for a Pushcart Prize. His first full collection of poetry, tentatively entitled "As We Refer To Our Bodies" is forthcoming from 8th House Publishing House this fall.