My poem “Helsinki” is live at Panoply. It was inspired in part by a Facebook thread on which editors commented on what caused them to instantly reject poems. One said beginning a poem at a window was cause for rejection. Hence the first line.
O at the Edges
Musings on poetry, language, perception, numbers, food, and anything else that slips through the cracks.
O at the Edges 
I love it, Robert.
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Thanks, Merril. I’m a bit of a contrarion, I must admit.
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I totally understand that impulse, and you did a great job. 🙂
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Good poem, plenty in it and anyone rejecting it because of the first line would be missing out.
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Thank you.
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Love poems that take on what we poets “mustn’t” write about. I’ve always heard that one should never write about dreams, so I’ve tried a couple of those…
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Blanket statements like that annoy me, so I respond with poetry.
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And absolutely forget poems wit dreaming about windows. 😉
Or daydreaming, in this case.
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They’re just too transparent. Groan…
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Birds are on the list as well? Malarkey! And rain? I guess Verlaine would have been SOL. Oh those types of posts piss me off– so glad to read your lovely rebuttal.
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I know! I’d be lost without birds and wind and rain.
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Nice poem. Congrats! I’ve certainly had quite a few rejections for my poetry.
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Thanks, Andrew. Me too. Last year I averaged over ten rejections a month. I don’t even want to total the number of poems that represents!
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You’re welcome. I’m glad I’m not alone.
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Oh, no. You’re certainly not alone.
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I just keep telling myself that each no brings me closer to the next yes! 🙂 Keep it up. It’s proof you are working. And of course, sometimes the work become better for the rejections.
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Oh, I’m rather thick-skinned when it comes to rejections. It’s simply part of the poet’s life. Sometimes a big part of it. Ha. 🙂
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Congratulation again Robert, I think starting with a door is fine, and I do avoid looking through the window, maybe tattered/torn curtain is ok, as in my poem, “A Crack In The Wall”. Oh, I’ll have to go buy some more wine today, to help you celebrate tonight….
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Thanks, Ivor. I’ll try looking through a stone wall if I think there’s a poem to be found on the other side. 😀 I bought a bottle of my favorite cheap cava, but haven’t opened it yet. We’ll see…
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Let me know and we’ll have a toast, a clink, and a drink.
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Well, in that case, opening now. Pop!
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Yeah, “Clink” and here’s to us !!… Had my Arctic Winds, published yesterday, in Vita Brevis Magazine, whoops, another Clink and drink…
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Clink! And congratulations! Will have to pour another glass in honor of your success.
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Of course… and I shall have another too, just in case I’ve got out of turn !!
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Ever the gentleman, Ivor!
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Robert, I especially liked this poem of yours. The playfulness, unapologetic voice to express freely regardless of what others value, as well as, the flow between words and spaces. I will read this one over and over to savor it.
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I’m so pleased you like it, Ali. Employing humor to make a point is fun, particularly when others find it worthwhile. 🙂
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Great fun! A wonderful response to being told something you must not do 🙂 You continue to inspire!!
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Thanks very much. Some attitudes inspire playfulness…
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To reject a poem is to not understand poetry. That is ignorance to me. It is. Experience and artistic expression is high above the realm of ignorant rejection. Poem on. Ignore ignorance.❤
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I truly don’t mind rejection – not every piece is right for every publication, and editors and publishers have finite time and space.
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Minding it or not was not my premise. I also have a strong jaw. My reasoning is that it is insolence. Who are they to reject another’s art? Are they God’s of art. That is my point. It saddens me is all and angers me when people feel they are high and mighty enough to judge art, which is rightly above such ignorance and say they have a right to do it. They do not. That is my point. It struck a nerve with me is all. You do you and create and write and let it flow. Best work is done that way as opposed to overthinking every word because of another’s criticism. Just wanted to encourage you. Keep writing you.😄❤
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Well, they have the right to choose what they wish to publish. But yes, I’ll keep writing. It is what I do. 🙂
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They like to believe so. Lol. And good.😀
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Beautiful poem, Robert. You know, sometimes these youngins can get a bit snarky. One (whose work I usually enjoy) complained recently about people whose poems were not very political. The complaint had something to do with wistfully looking out windows. But truth be told, long after this current regime in America is over, if we survive, we will still be wistfully looking out windows. And doors.
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Thanks, David. At my age I’ve realized that not every poem must scream with rage and pain. I think that some of the younger set concentrate on those to the detriment of their writing. There’s much more to life, and poetry, than raw emotion. And I’ll continue looking through the glass, no matter what.
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It seems a lot like the poem Ars Poetica, and in a good way! Because you’ve built on the imagery and metaphors so perfectly that I would set it as an ideal for all my future poems.
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Thank you, Saloni. This was indeed intended as an ars poetica.
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Beautifully done. You rose well to the stupid challenge
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Thanks, Derrick. It was fun to write.
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Those preconceptions can really narrow our vision. (K)
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And mine is already poor!
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Too many mustn’ts in the world! This opened up nicely …
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Agreed! Too many musn’ts!
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Yep, you’re a rebel. If you can’t write in a window, you’ll find a yet bigger window. You and James Dean, rebels
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Yes, that’s right. I have a cause, but no clue. 🙂
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This struck a chord. Actually it struck several chords. Nice.
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Thanks, Jay. So pleased it resonated.
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Thank you for the beauty that poem brought into my life today.
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Thank you for making my day!
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