Came so fast; couldn’t come fast enough; gone before you know it.  Summer!  Traffic jams, last minute work assignments, unavoidable repair bills, hidden fees that need to be disputed, hold-music, that squirrely sound the computer makes as you wait for the window to open… do the magic thing that you do already!  It’s enough to drive a person to drink.  “Wet the ol’ beak.”  And this Magpie got beak.  But what we like to do when we slip on the shades and sneak away for a few minutes to our secret nest tucked in corner of the backyard behind the creeping vines, string lights and rain-soaked Tiki torches, is some reading in search of something to cool us down.  The music of words, the rhythms of sentences strung together, the magic of fears, vices, aspirations you thought were yours alone, your dirty little secrets, being expressed in words or images, in the most poetic and true fashion by someone you never met, from another country, from half a world away.  Because we are all the same on that best level; all beings, all creatures.  We all feel rushed, pushed around, overwhelmed, disappointed but still dreamy . . . we all need a drink sometimes.  And we all respond to beauty and art.

the Thieving Magpie Summer 2024 Issue 26 has launched.  Check out these gutsy, passionate, keen-eyed artists who bravely put their confections of words, ideas and emotions out there for everyone to experience – knowing that deep down, we can all relate because we are all connected.

So  take a minute, click www.thievingmagpie.org and taste a poem, sample a story, take a look at the images.  Then get out there and enjoy Summer before it’s gone.