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Beverly Burch

A Brief History of Rejection—

First came jacere, Latin word for throw.
People went over head over heels
and something had to be done. By late
Anglo Saxon jection was firmly merged
with re- since everyone knew you’d do it again.
Previously, angry verbs ran through the body
spewing lava, ash, and the village was destroyed.
In the Renaissance if someone failed
to show due affection a sonnet was written.
Rejection slips emerged in the next century.
Now even debit cards turn you down
and you have to slink away like a naughty dog.
The point is, you’re not wanted, not your accents,
allusions, alliterations, or vain attempts
to find the right word. As for organ rejection
doctors didn’t know at first that if the patient
fails in love the new heart doesn’t take.

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Tomas Venclova

Literature & Democracy

Tomas Venclova

“A principled stance against aggression should never turn into blind hatred. Such hatred does not help anyone to win . . .”

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