Waiting, and waiting

A few weeks ago I submitted a poem to an online journal. I have not submitted my work, ever. Before clicking send to the editor of the site, I remembered an English teacher I had that was constantly submitting his work and ended up with an entire wall of his classroom dedicated to posted rejection letters. Giving a mini salute to him, I pressed send and then the waiting began. For a couple of weeks I felt a slow and steady excitement within that I hadn't felt in a long time. I felt like I was holding a little secret. Every day I checked my email to see if there was any correspondance about the poem. And then. I received an email. From the editor. He had read my poem, told me that he enjoyed it. He had made some suggestions and wanted me to take a look. I spent a weekend revising the poem. Then I re-submitted it. Waited some more. And more. And finally....found out that my poem had been selected. Let me tell ya, the elation was overwhelming. I drank champagne every nite that week, feeling a mighty sense of celebration. The poem will be published February 1. Now I wait for that day to come ;)