Spring came too fast, without warning, and busted out all over. It even caught the Thieving Magpie unprepared, off guard, still working the nest.
Like the rest of the planet, we’ve been anticipating this Spring for over a year. We have been tending to our garden; raking dried leaves; snapping off stiff branches; pulling creepy toxic weeds. We have been stretching out slumbering vines, dusting off long wilting banana leaves, plowing down and turning over the soil, tilling fresh, rich depths in preparation for all the New that has been bottled up, agitated, bubbling to the surface and pushing to come blossoming out.

Now it is here!

Explosive Spring, with a sustained burst of energy that has been simmering all year.

But wait!

Slow.

It.

Down.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s take a pause and make this fresh new batch of mischief and mayhem last. Let’s keep it healthy and hearty, cherishing each new breath, each new scent, each new song and color and mood.

We got time.

The Spring 2021 issue is our lucky number 13th and contains much to be savored. Let it breathe. Let the new poems lay on your tongue, the let new stories find their legs, the new reflections and visuals spark the palette and the imagination. Experience it and enjoy it. Make it last.

BIG THANKS to all of the brave and amazing storytellers, poets, essayist, artists and photographers who continue to flood our submission portals with their bold visions and gallant voices. Please keep them coming! And please keep visiting our site; keep reading; keep chasing the art and, most of all, keep chirping to your friends, cohorts and partners-in-crime about the Thieving Magpie.