Mused - the BellaOnline Literary Review - Summer Solstice 2008

Summer's sultry heat bakes our senses. Our artwork resonates with the shimmering yellow of the Valley of the Sun, the baked brick of the Canyon de chelly, the exotic pyramids of Egypt. Visions reflect the layers of the Grand Canyon, the striped boats of Ventimiglia Italy, the pinholes of a vampire's kiss. <br /><br />Poems bring to life azaleas, tea leaves, lazy summer days and shellin' purple-hull peas. Stories draw in the drama with scrambled eggs and a camping trip by the Pacific.<br /><br />Real life stories add even more poignancy with kind stepmothers, the acceptance of mistakes, the love of flying. There is the trauma of a grandmother with Alzheimer's. A woman celebrates her 40th birthday with a fire circle while wives discuss what women want and deserve. We give equal time to menopause and PMS, two decidedly feminine situations.<br /><br />The power of summertime infuses us to the end, as evidenced by "Thunder" -<br /><br />The crash far away;<br />a mild timpani remains<br />rumbling me to sleep.