
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