Letter from the Editor

It was the month of May, the month when the foliage of herbs and trees is most freshly green, when buds ripened and blossoms appear in their fragrance and loveliness. And the month when lovers, subject to the same force which reawakens the plants, feel their hearts open again, recall past trysts and past vows, and moments of tenderness, and yearn for a renewal of the magical awareness which is love.
– Sir Thomas Malory

Spring is unruly. If you are a longtime reader of The Citron Review, then you may remember that last year I wrote that spring is riskier for the heart than fall. It is.

Sir Thomas Mallory reminds us that the awakening our hearts is cyclical. Sometimes the winter seems to last forever, and at first it’s hard to trust that spring is here. Plant too soon and lose it all to frost. Plant too late and you are left with nothing. Spring requires that we fall into rhythm with it. It cannot be scheduled.

We see less submissions in the first quarter of the year. Perhaps as writers we simply get caught up in the reawakening of our hearts. It’s as if late winter leads us here, and each time we think we are unprepared. As those first moments of spring unfurl we follow the vines to our romantic origins, and then we yearn to be connected to that force again. At some point summer takes hold of this magic that will get us to the harvest.

We wish you tenderness and magic this spring. On behalf of the editors at The Citron Review, we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we do.

Warmly,
Angela M. Brommel
Editor-in-Chief
The Citron Review
An Online Journal of Brief Literature

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