Hard to believe it's been seven years since Sue Ellen Thompson left Mystic for the Maryland shore. After all, as a former Connecticut Poet Laureate who wrote with such bewitching eloquence about everyday existence in this part of the world, Thompson will probably always seem "one of ours."

On the other hand, as she told me in an interview in 2001, "I write for ordinary people leading ordinary lives." Indeed, over the course of collections like the Mystic-generated "The Leaving" and "The Golden Hour" - both nominated for Pulitzers - Thompson fluidly proved that great poetry plays well in virtually any setting.

It's wonderful that Thompson returns Friday for a reading at the Arts Cafe Mystic, particularly since her latest book, "They" - a conceptual compilation focused on a mother, her aging father, a World War II veteran, and her transgender child - is a masterwork of emotion, revelation, grace, acceptance, and a celebration of family.

Providing the musical component of the program will be the a cappella group Co Co Beaux, which is touring behind its new CD "Key Change."

- RICK KOSTER

The Arts Cafe Mystic, 7 p.m. Friday, Mystic Arts Center, 9 Water St., Mystic; Sue Ellen Thompson and Co Co Beaux; $10, students under 21 free; (860) 912-2444.