i can’t look at this
any other way
the world can be so dry

& i was born 
with water 
& i have given that

water to my children
& told them
to give it away

& they did not blink
they closed their eyes
& offered it

& now i am frightened
for their safety
there is no other way

originally appeared in Rogue Agent

Darren C. Demaree is the author of eleven poetry collections, most recently “Emily As Sometimes the Forest Wants the Fire”, (June 2019, Harpoon Books). He is the recipient of a 2018 Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Louis Bogan Award from Trio House Press, and the Nancy Dew Taylor Award from Emrys Journal. He is the Managing Editor of the Best of the Net Anthology and Ovenbird Poetry. He is currently living in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and children.