finally
I realised today
that I will never feature
at a writers fest
looking at the names
their bios
and their well-known works
I knew
it’s taken time
but five hundred dollars
and a hundred and fifty poems
for competition entries
and magazine submissions
a hundred dollars
more for the price of post
stamped
self addressed envelopes
(SSAE)
returning home
to tell me
no
but now I’m there
I have arrived
in the place where
coming to terms
is the start of the rest of my life
five hundred dollars
it was worth the price
a hundred and fifty poems
they were only life lessons
SSAE
I had to know
think I’ll go back
to my day job
it’s been neglected
for awhile
hardly any point
in writing the way I do
it’s not to standard
lacks
the clever words
that lift a thing above mundane
up to the billboards
for the festival
or the highly commended list
for the competition
into the pages of journals
the literati litter
around their coffee tables
dreams can seem so powerful
but they unravel
as insubstantial thread-illusions
in the air
© Frank Prem, 2009
Frank Prem Poetry 
i felt a bit sad reading that frank. i just found your blog. i decided to do some of the blogging-u courses to improve myself. i haven’t entered a competition in ages. mmmmmmmm maybe i will again. mel.
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Haha Tita, when a poet says never, it’s only until the next time.
I’ve entered and submitted since – sometimes yay, sometimes nay, but at least early in the writing career, it is important to try these things out.
I still submit, from time to time. The desire to be read is overwhelming.
Cheers,
Frank
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Great poem, Sir–but I too, felt sad…we can’t give up our dreams; as Langston Hughes said, “for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly”. But I saw your comment that ‘never’ only means “till next time”–so that’s good.
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Hi Leandra, yep, only till next time.
I’m a bit of a recognition junkie, when it comes down to it. No point in writing if nobody gets to read.
Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a comment.
Cheers,
Frank
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I completely understand that need to be acknowledged–read and responded (kindly) to. I think most of us blog because we don’t just want a closet full of notebooks/ journals–my free opinion 🙂 Best to you.
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Thank you Frank minus seven years, loved this piece. When I think of ephemeral failure & success I remember a Dilbert cartoon–“I lost my fortune and my trophy wife today. But I learned a valuable lesson” … “I hope I wrote it down somewhere.”
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That’s an excellent ‘valuable lesson’, and I hope I remember where I first saw it!
Thanks for the comment and glad you enjoyed the piece.
Cheers,
Frank
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