Rejections, Acceptances, and Finding the Right Home for a Poem

Two Poems, Many Rejections, One Yes

Alicia Cook, writing. Sept. 2025 in Livingston, NJ

Two of my poems, “The Cartomancer” and “The Widow in the Window,” have been published in the latest issue of Boudin (“the spicy online cousin” of The McNeese Review!).

Took a Long Time to Get These Published

“The Cartomancer” had previously been rejected by Rattle. It’s a long-form poem told through the lens of a fortune teller who carries others’ grief as her own. At the time, the rejection stung (as all rejections do), but sometimes a poem is just waiting for the right home. And in this case, Boudin turned out to be exactly where it belonged.

I wrote “The Widow in the Window” over two years ago, and it took this long to get published, but I love a slow burn. I believed in the piece enough to keep trying. That poem is told through the gaze of a widow as she watches her neighbors’ milestones unfold.

Rejection is Common and Constant

A reminder to my fellow writers: rejection is common and constant. We get told “no” far more often than “yes.” That’s the nature of this life we’ve chosen. But it also means that when the good news does arrive—when the acceptance email pops up in the inbox—it feels all the sweeter.

So if you’re in a season of “no’s,” keep going. Keep sending your work out there. Every rejection is proof you’re still writing, at least. And sometimes the piece you thought was doomed to your drafts folder just needed to wait for the right set of eyes to come along.

Thank you, as always, for being here with me through the ups, the downs, and the rare but oh-so-special good news moments.

ALICIA