Dear Reader~
As this series is winds to its end, I realize I’ve only made few posts in Behind the Hedge. This side column will continue as the novella publishes wide, and it’s my hope there will be interest and discussion with new readers.
And — surprise! A sequel is on the way: “Through the Iron Gate”.
Here is a Prose Poem or a Haibun by the protagonist, Stella.
Mirrors of Loss
I can talk about how my mother surrendered me. Although a newborn, I knew. It mattered. She held me for nine months and in her arms for a brief hello. When I learned Sarah was not my first mother, I asked, “Will you leave me, too?” I worried, “Who will take care of me?” I dreaded a final separation. Ultimate loss: loss of self. I must have caused this pain of separation. Unwanted. Unworthy. With no one person to see in the mirror—no likeness. When I found my birth mother, I felt the wow of reunion, recovery, and self-realization. My fears abated in the knowing; maybe her fears did, too. Lessened, never lost.
a sheer scrim ripples
over a girl’s image
waking to now.
Tomorrow will be the final episode twelve of Through the Yew Hedge
Hope to see you there!
Mel and Islay
© Mary Ellen Gambutti all rights reserved 2025-2026
😍