not under warranty

Bad rejection: We are mailing back most of your manuscript because our office’s paper shredder shuddered and stopped working after the first handful of pages were fed into it.

what they don't say

Gamblers don’t talk about their losses and poets don’t talk about their rejections.

almost a solicitation

When a poet gets a “No, thanks,” rejection, he ignores the ‘no’ and clings to that ‘thanks’ and thinks the editor is saying in code, ‘Send me something again soon’.

saved you from the poem

Be thankful the editor had the good sense to not publish your poem.

too good for us

The honest editor sent a nice note rejecting my poem, stating that I must place it in a more prestigious journal, for the pages of his magazine would only drag the piece down.

let me tell you

Gamblers will let slip news of their recent winnings while being stoic and tight-lipped as regards to their long losing streaks, and it’s the same with writers and their acceptances against the larger accumulation of rejection slips.

new and abused

I had to give him credit for titling his book, New & Rejected Poems.