a poem for the woman who pulled a knife at the library

By: Darren C. Demaree

sometimes the wound

cannot fathom

that you must press

the number one

when you dial out

from the free phone

& god dammit

what if my hands

are evil hands

& if i dial the number

another man

another wrong man

might show up

& end all beauty

& burn the house

of heaven in her throat

& pour more concrete

in her eyes

so the knife

so the cool sharp knife

instead of the ringing

& a clean exit

where once light

was swallowed

---

Darren C. Demaree is the author of eighteen poetry collections, most recently “the luxury”, (Glass Lyre, January 2023). He is the recipient of 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 the Editor-in-Chief of the Best of the Net Anthology and the Managing Editor of Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently living in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.