THE POND

Written by Debra Nystrom, Professor, Creative Writing Program, Department of English, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

A little cool, you think,

then the iron-scent takes you in,

you leave your feet and let it—

early summer chill easing its ripple

across your chest as if this water

never held a body other than yours

—silk, silty touch, thick with

minerals that knew you before

your body was body at all—was

nothing, pure impulse, wanting to be

taken, known, sweet-weight lifted

alone out to the dark middle,

place you always knew, as it knew

you would find yourself here, wet,

untethered, eyes closed, forgetting.

-Debra Nystrom

Night Sky Frequencies: New and Selected Poems