Tilt

I stand on the high tilt of a sidewalk square
lifted by tree roots. My daughter on my shoulders,
we watch fire trucks whirl and spin onto our block.
Black smoke across the street swarms toward us.
My daughter's legs dangle against my chest.
A wooden frame collapses. Rust pours out
the hydrant. A hose inflates into a snake, arcs
water into flames to my daughter’s delight.

The EMT crew readies its stretcher.
Roots push up from below. She stares
at the stretcher's glowing sheet.
My shoulders ache with the burden.

*Jim Daniels' next book of poetry, AMERICAN/DREAM, won the Blue Lynx Prize and will be published by Eastern Washington University Press in 2007. His next book of short stories, MR. PLEASANT, will also be published in 2007, by Michigan State University Press.