Baby’s first steps. The first words uttered.
First day of school. First day of college.
First day on the job. We rush to each
first with celebration. A race to be won,
a ribbon to break through.
Until the first Mother’s Day with no call
after the first Christmas without a mother.
The first time reaching for a name
no one answers anymore. No
Mother.
A First without a trophy. Just
a series of races no one wants to win.
Ms. Parris Krauss is honored to have published poetry in Louisiana Lit, ൪uartet, the Arkansas Review, Salvation South, Eclectica, One Art, Story South, The South Carolina Review, and the Mid/South Sonnet Anthology, among others. Fernwood Press published her full-length book (Mountain.Memory.Marsh.) in November of 2025. Carol was born in S.C., to mystical mountain people, raised in NC, and attended Clemson University. She currently lives in Virginia with her St. Bernard, Martha June.