Emily as a Coffee Shop

I don’t want
steamed milk, but isn’t it

better if I ask for it?
I don’t want Emily

to strip the wax
paper off of her croissant

like each shred of it
could be a boat for me

to ride her unexpected
tide, but each crinkle

makes me believe
I should buy all

the raw honey this place
refuses to put on sale.

If you’re awake enough
everything is a performance

& we’ve been here
for an hour.

If she keeps reading
that book with her name

in the title, I might start
writing a damn novel

& tell you all about it.

Darren C. Demaree is the author of sixteen poetry collections, most recently a child walks in the dark (December 2021, Harbor Editions). 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.