Mused - the BellaOnline Literary Review - Summer Solstice 2011

The longest day of the year opens our eyes to the beauty of the world. Crater Lake drowns us with sapphire blues and shimmering whites. Candy Colored Beetle shimmers iridescently. Drifting Turtle embodies serenity with impressionistic beauty. Our poems paint rich images in our minds. Spring Breakup layers silver-grey wolf willows by a still-frozen lake. Taming the Wild twists branches of mugo pine while Sheets whirls linens into rejoicing Sufi dancers. Fiction stories draw our hearts into previously unseen worlds. A New Life delves into a young girl´s experience in a puppy mill. Affairs of the Heart spends a rain-freshened day in India with a woman struggling with Alzheimer´s. Non-fiction shares in the realities of life. My Trip to Iran grapples with caring for an elderly parent. Grounded memorializes the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Grasp Life reminds us to be grateful. Enjoy the longest day - and every day. Life is precious. Each day is a present.