July 2022 Muse

July 2022

“Read, read, read. Read everything  —  trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.” — William Faulkner

Editor's Note:

The Strathcona Writers Muse is a forum for members of the Writers Foundation of Strathcona County to provide an opportunity for members to publish their works. Anything published in our letter is eligible to receive a publishing credit. We accept poems and short stories of 1000 words or less normally but longer pieces can be accommodated if they can be published in parts. We are always in need of new items for each month so don't hesitate if you have something we can put into our publication.

Send submissions to wfscsherwoodpark@gmail.com care of Henry Martell, editor.

Important Dates

Writers Circle Virtual Sharing Meeting online

Next date July 5, 2022

RSVP on the website and the link will be emailed to you prior to the meeting.

https://www.wfscsherwoodpark.com/event-details/writing-circle-meeting-online-13

Next Board Meeting: July 12, 2022

Newsletter Submission Deadline: July 25, 2022

Poets in the Park

Poets in the park meets the third Wednesday of every month online.

Reply to the link on the WFSC website

www.wfscsherwoodpark.com

Next scheduled meeting July 20, 2022

Children's Creative Writing Workshop

Second Monday of each month

Next Meeting July 11, 2022

Reply to the link on our Website

www.wfscsherwoodpark.com

This Month's Submissions

Art of Expression by Mandy Eve-Barnett

Expression of creativity

Idea to form

Flows from mind to medium

Ability to transform

Clay molded and shaped

Paint spread with brushes

Textiles sewn to garment

Metal bent and hammered

Paper folded and creased

Words tumble imagination

Flora arranged and displayed

Baubles and beads strung

Wool knotted on needles

Cross stitches forming scenes

Pencils drawn cross paper

Hook twisting threads

Wax shaped and scented

Scraps into stories

Soap shaped and marbled

Creativity is the key

Explore and calm

Reside within

Soul’s joy

Little Light

There was a little light

At the end of my tear

The path that I had taken

Had taken me here

It was a path of pain and

Such wear

But I strove on

With persistence

And held on with fear

Each day I fought my breath

The agony filled me

With dread

I had lost my love

From the day we had wed

But did I find me

Now that I’m here

I look to that light

At the end of my tear.

Scharie Hilton.

Superior Repairs by Mandy Eve-Barnett

The clock ticked loudly in the empty shop, echoing its minute hands movement. Fred stood in the dark reliving the many customers he’d helped over the years, fixing radios, irons, bicycles, and food mixers. Familiar faces smiled as they greeted him laden with objects large and small, lifting some onto the counter, while others were rolled or pushed through the shop door. Now the closed sign was permanent. Fred’s fixing days were over. Retirement stretched ahead of him even though he’d postponed it for over two decades. At eighty years old, his fingers were no longer dexterous and his failing eyesight poor, even with the large magnifying glass to assist. He would miss the smiles, the conversation and the servicing but knew times had changed and now most people just bought new instead of fixing something.

He turned running his hand over the dusty counter one last time and put the key in the lock. The realtor greeted him with a smile, hand outstretched for the key.

“You were an institution Mr, Dobbs and one my parents and I cherished. W