Thursday, August 18, 2022

Poetry - Ode to Rejection


I have a subscription to "Writer's Digest" and each issue they have a Poetic Aside which showcases a poetic form. I usually try to write one using that form just as a writing exercise. Then, each year I enter one at the Carroll County Fair. Below is a poem I wrote sometime in the last year (I haven't had a chance to go back to clarify the form of poem it is. I'll post a note, if I find it). 

From what I remember is that each line had to be seven syllables. Each stanza is four lines. The second and fourth lines have an end rhyme. The last word of Line 1 rhymes with the third syllable of Line 2, and the last word of Line 3 rhymes with the fifth syllable of Line 4. 

When one submits to magazines, agents, and publishers often, you tend to get used to form letters of rejection. Sometimes more is offered, but often it is a "thanks for sending" and "doesn't fit what we're looking for." type response. Below is a satire of one of those letters. 

By the way, this took the blue ribbon at the fair. :). 

Ode to Rejection

Dear Mr. Writer, Thanks For
Sending your story to us
Though we enjoyed your tight prose
Your plot never rose much fuss.

It circled and circled down
As a clown fumbles a joke
And trips over too big shoes
Best read with cold booze, plus toke.

The characters are well drawn
Like a yawn or a sad song
Played loud when the mood is soft
You misuse words oft, just wrong.

Please don’t suffer denial
No retrial for your book.
We suggest a new vocation
Or hobby for fun. Fry cook?

No comments:

Post a Comment

My Music Journal 2025: August 17, 2025

  Sunday, August 17, 2025 Time: 6:19 PM Song: Underground Blues Artist: Richard Roberts, Jr. Mode of Consumption: Listening to Midwest Revue...