If There Would Be No Light: Poems From My Heart

“I don’t know where it comes from,” says Sahara of her poetry, “but it feels like I swallow the words down from the sky and they come up again as poems, already complete and entire.” This nine-year-old girl has been creating poems since the age of four. Before she even learned how to write, the young poet had figured out how to dictate her poems into the telephone answering machine so that they would not be lost. Sahara has traveled the world with her mother, a professional photographer, and her poems and illustrations reflect her experiences in Thailand, where she met with Buddhist monks and nuns and studied meditation and music; in India, where she met Mother Teresa; in Bali, where she observed healing ceremonies; and in Australia, where she was introduced to “The Dreaming” by aboriginal elders. Her poems have brought her international attention, drawing praise from influential writers and artists. Yet for all her accomplishments, this charming girl with a transcendent talent is as curious about the world and as filled with the joy of living and loving as any child can be. If There Would Be No Light represents an exciting new voice in American poetry and is destined to be an inspiration to children, parents, teachers, and poets.