Uncategorized – demarisspeaks

I know, I know, I know

Now that I am certain you will never return I wonder how much more time will have to pass before I stop wanting you to.

Winter Warmth The heavy snow stops everything— traffic work school construction lunch dates birthday parties doctor appointments big plans airplanes— but the heavy snow doesn’t stop your mind from running full speed two years into the past when you spent a couple February nights sliding into bed beside a man who loved you so muchContinue reading “Winter Warmth”

Allegory of the Fence

It’s been two years since the storm took down the tree which broke off the top rail of a six foot section of fence that surrounds the large field where the brown horse stands in all weather watching the birds and the mice and roaming slowly along the perimeter grazing on what it must knowContinue reading “Allegory of the Fence”

One View

Someone is looking for me Here On this page Every day One view Just now after midnight One view Someone is waiting Checking Searching For a poem that will indicate I have moved on Past this grief This loss This year But, dear viewer, I haven’t.

Screaming into a Paper Cup

Screaming into a Paper Cup By DeMaris GauntCover art by CR Leyland “Time Standing Outdoor Cafe” 2014 Sometimes I wonder if you ever drove past my house when you were down here visiting Kathy at school. Were you curious to see if there was ever a second car in my driveway? There wasn’t. After you,Continue reading “Screaming into a Paper Cup”

The First Survival

The First Survival There’s no musical residue that accompanies the memory— it’s more like deer-in-the-headlights silence— just the thirty-minute play beginning to end and in between I was in the spotlight on autopilot, five years old. I only had one line— and I delivered it like a gift I didn’t want to give away, wrappedContinue reading “The First Survival”

Tradition of Bias on the Drive Home

Tradition of Bias on the Drive Home We agree the Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful— the turkey, perfection the rolls, divine— the variety of indulgences colored the countertop like a mosaic and we consumed everything with the hunger of the starved. The homemade apple pie, gone, before we finished our heaping plates, but it was okayContinue reading “Tradition of Bias on the Drive Home”

Oh, Ocean ~ Part II

Oh, Ocean ~ Part II As I walked toward you for our last evening stroll I started to feel the melancholy of saying goodbye. Our days passed so quickly didn’t they? I will miss the offerings you pushed onto the shore just for me— the broken, imperfect shells and sand dollars— you realized I likeContinue reading “Oh, Ocean ~ Part II”

American Contrarians

American Contrarians Understand why we don’t understand.We are full-belliedwith a refrigerator full of greens and meats,most of which will be shit-cannedafter the expiration date stings us with the reminder that, once again,we failed to live responsibly— failed not to waste almost everything. Still, we commit to making the worlda slightly better place.There are two carsContinue reading “American Contrarians”

Phantom Love

Phantom Love Today your love was like a phantom limb. It saved me, caught me after a fall. The house painter I hired in August was supposed to be finished by the end of September but kept postponing delaying rescheduling and here it is the end of October and the call came again— a totalContinue reading “Phantom Love”