The olive drabness of rejection rots
A fruitless branch of unattached, pruned parchment.
Black night of doubt surrounds the judgement. Lots
Of missing feedback for the sapling talent
Erodes the ego. Friendless fears, like dew
Drops, warp and wrinkle paper. Pencil nubs
With warn eraser caps provoke anew
The memory of their lead-sweat traces. Shrubs
Get sheared, but, writing is a gift that grows
Like graceful grape vines. Read how others write.
Agree or disagree. Allow your prose
Or poetry to be critiqued in light.
Engraft into a writing league, and sow
Revised words till they hang as mistletoe.
V. Paige Parker is married, has 5 children, and lives in San Antonio. She is a poet with an MFA in Creative Writing in the Catholic Literary Tradition, with a focus on formal poetry, from the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas. She is a member of Well-Read Moms. Her hobbies include playing the guitar and the flute, taking long walks with her husband, and traveling with him. Her website is https://substack.com/@vpaigeparker.