Two Poems
by Jim Daniels
CEMENT, DETROIT
we were raised on stagnant rivers
sectioned off to allow
for slight expansion.
they nevertheless cracked
beneath us, which we noticed
but did not comment on.
carving initials into wet cement
contrary to popular belief
was not a common pastime.
we were busy squeezing
pimples and each other and any-
thing remotely soft and poisonous.
given the circumstances, we grew
fond of bloodstains
URBAN RIVER DREAM
I dream of swimming in asphalt
like blind fish in caves.
All my life my feet thud against
black tar and gray concrete.
The underground fish own a grace
and focus we are not permitted,
following endless roads with their dual
currents and striped yellow lines.
We have built their tracks.
Above them, we crash into accidents.
Do fish have accidents? I caress hard
surfaces, dark iceless layers.
We cannot break through
with our measured reckless steps.
While we dream, in what darkness
do they spawn? If we only knew
what the fish know. Our dreams
lead us under daily barriers beneath
our feet. We swim free there,
only to be saved, brutal hooks
yanking us back
to the surface.
Jim Daniels’ latest fiction book, The Luck of the Fall, was published by Michigan State University Press. Recent poetry collections include The Human Engine at Dawn, Wolfson Press, Gun/Shy, Wayne State University Press, and Comment Card, Carnegie Mellon University Press. His first book of nonfiction, Ignorance of Trees, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press. A native of Detroit, he currently lives in Pittsburgh and teaches in the Alma College low-residency MFA program.