An actual rejection letter and a poem...

I received this remarkable rejection letter and posted it on Facebook, as one does. Then Lillian Necakov suggested that I made it into a poem, though it really is a perfect thing in itself. I had recently read this article in the Globe by Marsha Lederman and was inspired by what Marsha was writing about, including what Michael Christie had written above his desk.  Here's the rejection letter and subsequent poem.



Thank you for submitting five poems to __________.

We are unable to accept your work for publication this time around. The Poetry Editorial Board responded quite variably and strongly to these poems, admiring their craft and wit and tonal range, but disagreeing no less variably on which they preferred and why. The poems struck a bit like bowling balls, knocking different readers down in each case. Other readers elsewhere may well respond differently, too, and most of the poems will likely find good homes, so you should certainly keep them in circulation.