SUMMER 2024 Editors Note

This issue was completed with special thanks to my guest editor, poet, philosopher and singer-songwriter Justin Paul, who also provided the cover photo! It was with his hard work and passion that inspired me to put together an incredibly special issue. I'm grateful and indebted to him (especially for our conversations about poetics and the alchemy of the unconscious). It's times like this, I think the act of poetry might be the universal solvent in creating the Philosophers Stone.

In our eighth issue, I have the privilege (and honour) of including Sergeant Robert MacLaren's poem, A Lament, where he openly shares himself and his search after his experiences as a veteran of the US Air Force after the Vietnam War. It was during my time as an undergraduate at Trent University, while I was researching a paper on Canadians in Vietnam, his daughter, Heather, was generous to share her father's original photos, medals, and memories from his time there. After reconnecting this summer at the 2024 Pow-Wow on Scugog Island, Heather spoke about the existence of the poem that her dad had written, as a  tribute to her father. A poem that found both of us full circle.

Justin wrote, after first reading, that: "each stanza grows closer to something bigger than himself. Of the last three stanzas, two are comparatively selfless, talking to God and imploring the reader to embrace a more altruistic approach to life." I couldn't agree more. MacLaren's poem powerfully speaks to his deeply personal quest for freedom, understanding, and truth. Worth reading is Heather's "Letter from a Sergeant's Daughter," to her father. Robert: Thank You for Your Service, and your beautiful, heartfelt poem. It shines like a beacon.

I also sat down to talk with the poet and friend Pat Connors, who released his full length book of poems, The Long Defeat, this summer from Mosaic Press.

Symbolically, 8 is a number signifying eternity and limitless infinity. Morning Muse is like that, a magic mirror to the universe that we hold within, one line at a time, that offers us a key to the human experience and human empowerment. Justin and I are proud to bring you the Summer 2024 issue, 

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SUMMER 2024