You would think that after Summer’s frantic heat and flailing limbs subside, there would be peace in the Fall.  You would think that after coordinating your days off, after checking the oil, replacing the belts and rotating the tires, after threatening to pull over or turn this car around if all the mischief in the backseat didn’t subside, after planning and enduring family vacations – you would think after all that, there would be peace in the Fall.

You would be wrong.

Howling dogs and children.  Wailing leaf blowers and lawn mowers.  Honking horns at drivers distracted by texting telephones and pens vaporizing cannabis, or a good old fashioned tilt of a flask at the red light.

This is Fall in the 21st Century.

But even in a 21st Century Fall, there is the timeless event of Harvest – a gathering of ripe crops.  This season, the Thieving Magpie has reaped a healthy bounty of writers and poets from across the United States and beyond.  In their work, these artists express their angst, grief, rage (TWO involving cyclists!) and dreams with unique and artistic visions that may help calm your heatwaves, your late Summer storms, your traffic jams . . .  or not.  They may also inspire a healthy dose of the mayhem we all need.

To our readers, enjoy the Harvest and sow your own seeds.  Read.  Create.  Submit.  Repeat.  It’s cyclical.