Skip to content

The Library will be closed on Sunday, March 31.

Today's Hours:
The library is open today from 9am - 9pm

Day 15: Riding the Bus Back to Oxford by Catherine Pond

Queer Poem-a-Day is a program from the Adult Services Department at the Library and may include adult language.

Riding the Bus Back to Oxford

by Catherine Pond

I wish I was a lesbian, she said. I tried, you know.
I nodded, I know. She turned toward the window

and closed her eyes. Her hair, still damp from rain,
was darker than usual. Behind her, a field

was revealing itself: grey heather along the road,
an abandoned house, green wheat

where the water began. I’m sorry, she said.
I just miss him. Later, she woke from a nap

to the sound of rain and touched her head gently
to my shoulder. Don’t get sick of me, she said.


Copyright © 2021 by Catherine Pond. Used with the permission of the author. Originally published in Fieldglass (March 2021.)


About the Author

Author headshotCatherine Pond was born in New York City and grew up in Georgia. She is the author of Fieldglass (Southern Illinois University Press 2021), winner of the Crab Orchard First Book Prize. Her poems have appeared in Best New Poets, Best American Nonrequired Reading, AGNI, The Adroit Journal, Narrative, and other publications. Pond is a Ph.D. candidate in Literature & Creative Writing at the University of Southern California, where she teaches writing. For more: catherinejeanpond.com

 

Queer Poem a Day graphic

2021 Queer Poem a Day


Queer Poem-a-Day is directed by poet and teacher Lisa Hiton and Dylan Zavagno, Adult Services Coordinator at the Deerfield Public Library. Music for this second year of our series is the first movement, Schéhérazade, from Masques, Op. 34, by Karol Szymanowski, performed by pianist Daniel Baer. Queer Poem-a-Day is supported by generous donations from the Friends of the Deerfield Public Library and the Deerfield Fine Arts Commission.

Deerfield Public Library

Install Deerfield Public Library

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”

Accessibility Toolbar