I never knew him. Never even laid eyes on him. Only heard once that an older guy—the brother of a classmate—had a mad crush on me. At the time, I didn’t know what to make of this rumor. I forgot all about it until thirty years later, on a visit to my hometown, when I stopped by the rundown farm store and greeted the young woman behind the counter, telling her who I was, hoping to reach my former classmate. Her jaw dropped. Before she darted from the room, I learned her father had named her after me.

revenant the ghost in someone else’s story

Cynthia Anderson

A California resident for more than 40 years, Cynthia Anderson is the author of 13 poetry collections, most recently The Far Mountain (The Wise Owl Publications, 2024), Arrival (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2023), and Full Circle (Cholla Needles Press, 2022). Her poems appear frequently in journals and anthologies, and her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Cynthia is co-editor of the anthology A Bird Black As the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens (Green Poet Press).

Author’s website: www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com