FIRST EVER....

Have you ever submitted something to someplace, and then been thrilled when they respond saying that they loved it and accepted it?

Yeah. Me neither.

But I have recently recieved my first *REJECTION LETTER*. (Or email, but whatever.)

Here's the poem I submitted to Mindflights a few weeks ago:


Disturbance rules the world tonight
When not one ear has heard the sun’s last cry
While the leaves and branches tremble
As cold harsh wind of fear and doubt blow by

Among the trees no light remains
To find a path to freedom’s final spark
Yet still they clamber like blind wolves
To try and reach a way to end the dark

All around the blazing flames die
Snuffed out by the sudden streams of tears
And their torches forever trapped
In an endless darkness no fire can pierce

Yet something soars above the trees
Gleaming like an eagle in the moon’s cry
Seen by all, hushed as a serpent
And perched untouched among the starlit sky


Instead of boring you with my own analysis, I'll just share a part of the letter I got that wasn't automated. Here's what some of the editors had to say about it:


*****

I think this one is good.

*****

The meter doesn't scan well in some places and I feel like it could be a little longer and expand more on the thing in the sky -- what it is and what it means to the people who see it. I did like this line:
"Snuffed out by the sudden streams of tears"

*****

There are some nice lines in this poem, but I have to say that I find the sf/fantasy element so faint that I'm not sure it's even there. Also, I agree that the meter is not quite right in places, which weakens the poem as a whole.

*****

This didn't feel sufficiently SF for me, as it felt more metaphorical.... but I also kinda didn't like how it felt vague and a touch too emotive for so little substance. A "meh" from me. And a no.

*******BACK TO IAN...


So this is what it's like to be rejected. I feel like I've hit a milestone. :P

:)Ian(: