Below is another poem from my upcoming chapbook, “Home is a Sweater” that’s coming out from Finishing Line Press in June 2023. https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/home-is-a-sweater-by-stefanie-wielkopolan/
Snowstorm in Black Mountain, NC
We shovel ourselves
out of the apartment,
pack the dog,
and drive downtown.
Our small town,
under a foot of January snow,
is shut down,
save for the Chinese restaurant
where our take-out is ready,
and the tavern
that plays bluegrass on Friday nights.
People crowd around small tables at the bar,
necks wrapped in scarves and feet in heavy boots.
Friends lean in close to each other
as they shoot back pints of beer and mugs of wine.
The open sign,
a reminder that we all need
a place to belong.
The bookstore and pottery shop,
closed for the weekend,
are outlined in gold strings of light.
The windows, frosted over,
a pattern of crystal ferns and
sugared grass.
A pattern, you say, of home.
Stefanie Wielkopolan 