"The Go-To" by Carol P. Krauss

The clouds, reed thin. Threads that stitch

the Blue Ridge Mountains of my ancestors.

The stars, clasps pulled from Granny’s

button box fixing this place to me. Mine.

The terrain, rough and unforgiving. Granite

as gray as gravemarkers. I visit on occasion.

That nubby wool cardigan covered in the dog’s

hair. Snags and picks. Placed in and pulled

from the Good Will box a hundred times.

Not fit to wear, but the go-to on a crisp

January night in a ramshackle cabin crouched

under the collar of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

After twenty-four years in Fort Lauderdale, Ms. Krauss has relocated to Virginia to be closer to her family. Carol was honored to be a UVA Best New Poet.  In 2021, her book, Just a Spit Down the Road, was published by Kelsay. Some venues where she has publications are– Louisiana Lit, One Art, Schuylkill Valley Journal, Story South, and Highland Park Poetry, and she was selected for Ghost City Press’ 2023 Micro-Chap Summer Series. Her chapbook, The Old Folk’s Call it God’s Country, is being released by The Poetry Box in Spring 2024.