Sometimes it takes the same amount of effort and energy to lose as it does to win. I remember the Hungarian Goulash and the recipe I followed so very carefully but failed in my interpretation of 6 garlic cloves and 6 bulbs of garlic. The bulbs went into the goulash. The result was so horrible that we moved immediately on to the desert of lime sherbert and sugar cookies. Thank goodness for that tart sherbert. I had worked all afternoon on this dinner of Hungarian Goulash and concluded that good honest effort does not in itself guarantee success. For a writer, receiving rejection notices for hard work done is a similar story. Does all the effort and product go down the disposal? Perhaps, sometimes it should but . . . remember the tart and the sweet. In the present tense the rejection simply means I put my heart and soul into a slice of poetry pie. There are more pieces to savor and the initial work is done. Maybe the meringue was a bit off or perhaps it was a perfect poem read at the wrong time or a perfect piece of key lime pie tasted by a chocolate aficionado. "Keep baking and keep sharing your best words" says wise old Ms. Muse.
