Several years ago I came across a poem.  There was no author’s name attached, and this was before the internet.  I remember asking a resource librarian how to find out who had written the poem, but she was unable to help.  I kept that paper though because the words haunted me.  I wanted more.  There were so many stories hinted at in the stanzas, and I yearned to hear those stories.  What happened before.  What happened after.  Why? Who did the girl turn out to be? How did she live?  I used to make up stories about the girl in the poem, and the words contributed to many daydreams.  In a way, it was my first exposure to the writer’s best friend; that ‘What If’ question that inspires writing.

A friend suggested I type a few lines of the poem into Google.  I did, and there the author was.  Not only did I find who wrote the poem, but I also found that she has written many more for me to discover.  Mary Mackey has graciously given me permission to post that poem here, which I have done in the sidebar. I’d planned on posting it right within this post, but it formatted as if each line of the stanza was a new paragraph and that distracts from words that deserve full attention.  Every time I read this poem it gives me chills and I hope others see the beauty and mystery, too.  And if it makes you want to read more, go to www.marymackey.com

Ms. Mackey has also agreed to be interviewed, so I am trying to come up with questions that she hasn’t been asked thousands of times.  Until then, please take a moment to visit the sidebar and read When I Was a Child. And then please let me know if it haunts you like it does me.