Rejection

A struggling writer sat heavily, weighed down by the world.

Taking the letter he stuck it atop his face, reading his pleading that all his life worked so hard to pen that bestseller.

Secretly he knew he was enthralled by sights of his name in big print, of bookstores bragging about his latest.

Unable to wait longer he tore open the response. His eyes darted across the meticulously stained printer paper.

Was a lifetime of hard work failing? Or did he discover his downfall in the words so beautifully marked in such small print: "never write to please others."

He sank further, grappling with the meaning of success, questioning man's ability to define purpose.