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Rejected Works

Three poems, recently rejected

By XanduaPublished 4 years ago 2 min read
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Rejected Works
Photo by Laurice Manaligod on Unsplash

After writing a short article on the Liberties of Rejection, published in Refresh Magazine I thought I would take a look at some of my recently rejected works. Each of these poems was not the right fit for where it was submitted and in that I now get to publish it somewhere else. Rejection is something creatives encouter often. Its something we need to befriend. Find out more about how in my article...

By Europeana on Unsplash

Still Life

These grapes, gauche skin

slick and painted, gives way

when bitten, to the turbid green

simple strokes, marbled teeth

render pulp and dry coat peel

Here you sit, presented

caught and calcified, pitch stain

even the shadows stalled

to take in the pungent fruit

before it never rots...

By Sean Pollock on Unsplash

Career goals

It will be when I walk out the office door

for the last time, though we no longer go in

and it will, in the back of my throat, be a scream

a breath, intake and out, all over again

It will make me lighter, feel softening shoulders

tension release, and then build as I walk on

purposefully so, no office chair or zoom call

a break, in some simple way, until regrown

It will have been worth it, crash course in all

the ways I'm not sure I want to be but still

enlightening, in all that I need to become

head high, and bridges intact, I'll happily fuck off.

By Nick Brookenheimer on Unsplash

VW

In husks and hulking carapaces

of ancient beetles

that used to crawl

skitter and shill

round little tracks and grooves;

bloom fruit.

Crack the metal wings

lifting rust and purple hues

to let out creeping vines

let slow blooming brambles

prick through the sides

of a heavy abdomen.

And all the little paths

worn down by tired tread

and stitching hives together

overgrow with grass and bones

and leave no exit signs

but bonnets bursting, growing green.

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Magda is a poet and witch, read more of her work here.

Stay updated with her musings on folklore, science and the things in between by following her instagram: @Xan6ua

inspirational
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About the Creator

Xandua

Poet, witch, messy bitch. Trained biochemist with way too many words.

Website: www.xandua.com Instagram:@Xan6ua

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