Rejection Letter Lay-Up

Its thrilling to fail in public
if you can pivot your sense of self.

I like to pick up the ball
that writer's block deflected,
that the reader's rim rejected,
and dribble it like saliva
squeezed under a starving cheek,

then pump fake it
like a shift button
on a Windows 10 keyboard
shifting back and forth
until the scoreboard beeps.