Flying

Let's go flying, you say
As the words fly
From fingers to keyboard to screen
Then sub-editor says fix this, rewrite that
And down you go
Into the reality of what is
Your story.

You cut and paste
Tighten and polish
Until the words flow smoothly
And once again you fly
The story ready for publication
Proud of a job well-done

“Dear writer, I don’t agree with you
On point A, B and C.”
I can live with that, you say.
Dear writer, I think you suck
And your words should never
Have made it to print.
Can’t please everyone, you say
But deep down you wish
You could.

Dear writer, I loved your article
published on Magazine X
I’d like to reprint it on Magazine Y
Would you consider writing a column for us too?
Once again you have wings
Let’s go flying.

Footnote: The poem was inspired by dark but vague criticism from a reader of my work. I wrote a story that my editors told me was very good. We worked hard on it to polish it, and it made lead for the publication.

Then one reader commented by saying that he did not go beyond the first sentence. ( He did not say why).

It make me feel crappy, especially as I started out feeling particularly proud of the story. I started wondering if I could have gotten the facts wrong, if he disagreed with the viewpoint provided by my sources, or whatever. Anyway, that sinking feeling that came from the criticism inspired me to write the poem.