Disappointment

I entered a short story in the University College Cork competition ‘Carried in Waves’, and a short story and small portfolio of poems in the Manchester Metropolitan University creative writing competition. They had to be unpublished, so they haven’t been shared on the blog. The ‘Carried in Waves’ long list came out yesterday and, once again, I was unsuccessful. Successful shortlisted writers were being contacted by phone and email yesterday; I haven’t heard, so I assume neither my short story nor my poems have been selected. As soon as I know that the poems and short story from the MMU competition have definitely not been selected, I will be publishing them on the website.

I can’t begin to describe the leaden feeling of disappointment, which I can share with you as so many of you have felt it too. I have, however, told myself in no uncertain terms to buck up and get on with it. I have started to make a list of some of the scribbles I have shared on this blog, including haikus and tankas, which I am going to develop by following an article by Helena Nelson, 32 WAYS OF REVIVING A REJECTED POEM.

If any of you have favourites which you think deserve to be developed for competitions, please let me know.

In the meantime, a tanka:

Disappointment

Buoyancy of hope

Sinks like lead into a sea

Of disappointment

Wrestling with the undertow

Treading turbulent water

Image found on forum.drawmixpaint.com