Catherine Weiss

Getting Out

The cop rescues my dogs,
says we can wait in his cruiser.
There is nowhere else to go.

I perch on the back seat
with the car door ajar.
Pups behind me, scrabbling.

My soft gray dress. Long sleeve.
If you look closer, houndstooth.
The loose garment soaking,

clings—breasts, belly,
rain making me obscene—
hard plastic seat cold to cunt.

There comes a point after
I escape the house fire
when the storm lets up

the situation seems funny.
I take a bedraggled selfie.
Giggle to my neighbors

at my inconvenient afternoon.
I’m already telling it to myself
as a humorous anecdote,

how I had neither bra
nor panties on when lightning hit.
From my vantage in the street,

it’s all looking kind of fine.
Fire crews working calmly,
damage contained.

I expect to be in my bed tonight,
and I'll sleep well.
Then I hear the breaking glass.

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Catherine Weiss (they/she) is a poet and artist from Maine, currently living in Western Massachusetts. Their poetry has been published in BOMB, Sixth Finch, Tinderbox, DIAGRAM, Up the Staircase, Fugue and Taco Bell Quarterly. Catherine is the author of three poetry collections, most recently Big Money Porno Mommy, from Game Over Books in 2025. Their book, Wolf Girls vs Horse Girls, was a finalist for the Maine Literary Award for Poetry in 2022. Catherine was also the 2017 Grand Slam Champion of Northampton Poetry and has competed nationally. More at catherineweiss.com.