5 Poems (rejection)

I wrote these poems on April 18, 2021 and submitted them to The Walled City Journal. A 19-year-old medical student from Lahore, Pakistan runs the magazine. Her feedback with the rejection letter offered some of the most insightful comments I’d ever gotten in over a hundred rejections in the last few years.

Dear Bryan William Myers,

We hope this email finds you well. Thank you for submitting to our humble little magazine. Reading your work was of great honour. We thoroughly enjoyed your poems but unfortunately, we will have to pass this time. Please find the comments from our editors below.

IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO BACH THEN WHY ARE WE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION?
In many ways this poem is story-like, and I appreciate the author's attempts to do this. The piece does however feel a bit all over the place, and it is hard to figure what exactly the writer is saying about the significance of listening to Bach.

BUT LISTEN
With the use of some witty comments and mild humor, this author is able to unapologetically make their case that they are not so bad, that there are many worse things in the world, and in fact, many worse people. I found their writing style and use of humorous diction to be quite clever.

IF I RUN OUTTA COFFEE
I found it quite interesting that this author was able to take the simple idea of running out of coffee, or rather, the every-day coffee-drinker not having their morning brew, and expand it into a sophisticated story in which such a person loses control.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
It is truly remarkable how much emotion this author is able to evoke as they write so intensely about things that most readers would find to be boring: going to a library. I felt as though this piece went slightly 'off-the-rails', however, this does not take away from the many brilliant things this writer is able to achieve as they work to bring a very lively energy to each of their poems.

BLOOMING BRILLIANCE
Again, I appreciate the way this writer is able to make their pieces come to life despite the ambiguity they consistently utilize. I am not confidently able to distinguish this piece from any of the others, for I feel as though they are all quite similar in their level of sophistication and the author's ability to convey a certain idea.

Thank you for sending your words our way. We would be honored to consider your work again! In the meantime, take care and stay safe. Sending you lots of virtual hugs!

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Regards, Zarnab Tufail
The Walled City Journal

5 Poems

by Bryan William Myers