The Jewel by DS Maolalai
“Saccharine garbage. No point of view. Could have been written by anyone. Didn’t even happen.”
Hungover, Driving by DS Maolalai
“I have a tendency sometimes to write what I kind of think of as “you had to be there” poems. Believe me when I say this is a dead-on accurate description of the scene that occurred when a few of my friends went away for a weekend, and the drive home – but there’s a difference between diary and art, and this is the former.”
Pigeons by DS Maolalai
“This piece was one that I spent a lot of time tinkering with, but I could never quite get it right. That tends to happen a lot when I try to write poems about birds. I think I go overboard on the imagery without providing enough connecting tissue to make it clear where the metaphor ends and the object begins.”
Prequel by Elizabeth BJ
“I trashed this writing because I wrote it off a personal experience and think it is too localized in that specific situation to be relatable, and because I don't think I have found a place to live.”
We’re Stripped Bare, Always by Hew Davis
“I originally wrote this story after witnessing an elderly gentleman in Gaeta, Italy walking out to the sea wall each day with his deceased wife’s photo in hand. It was heartbreaking when I first heard the man’s story, yet steadying after watching him for weeks and weeks one summer when I was very young. I rejected this work of mine for a couple reasons. One, I always thought I’d write more on it, make it much longer. And two, for a long time, I didn’t like how it ended. I thought it would be more pleasing and rounded if the ring were to return to the old heartbroken man. At this point in my life, I think it’s important to remember that good fortune is not just some guarantee that you can wait on, that you can expect. Luck, the good kind and the bad, enters without knocking.”
Teaching at a Toxic University by Lev Raphael
“I scrapped this piece for one main reason: I cannibalized it for my mystery series set in the wild world of academia. Once I did that, I stopped thinking it could stand on its own. I abandoned the piece and moved on to finish and publish many other personal essays in the last twelve months. With some distance, though, I like it better than before.”
Fairy Debt by Cindy Hossain
“This is based on a childhood memory of growing up with a very clumsy, but lovely, sister. I “trashed” this piece, because I thought it might not have enough significance to be interesting to outsiders. Nonetheless, I enjoyed writing and capturing the moment, which we still laugh and talk about in our family many decades later.”
A Hole, Gone Fishing, Fish Outta Water by Eve Greenlow
“These are three separate pieces that I wrote for a micro-fiction contest earlier this year. I didn't submit any of them because the category I got for the second round was comedy which is a genre with which I'm not comfortable. After the contest I just felt like they were too short or incomplete to send anywhere. The prompt was to include the action of ice fishing in the comedy genre and contain the word ‘excuse.’”
Unsee by Mona Mehas
TW* police violence, racism, George Floyd murder and the D. Chauvin trial
”I wrote this poem while watching the trial as I describe. I was taken by the fear and hatred in his eyes. It was such a timely poem I couldn't find a place to publish it then it became dated.”
Christmas Eve in the Drunk Tank by Jeanne Sharp
“This story is actually the beginning of a novel I’ve been working on since 2016. I’m unhappy with the novel in general and I’ve been struggling with what to do with it. I think the beginning is pretty strong, though, and I’ve submitted it to a few publications. One publication actually picked it up to publish but then went dark before that could happen. “
Days Like This by Sam Calhoun
“I wrote this poem maybe after reading too much Mary Oliver not that that's a bad thing, and always felt it was a bit too syrupy to put out into the world. My love letter to my beloved companion, Lulu, the Dog Wonder.”
Bubbles by Liv Elise Douglas
“This piece was made out of random thoughts while I was struggling with burn out and panic attacks, not caring for myself properly. It was trashed after returning to it and worrying it was raw childish whinging.”
Mist by Caitlin Sherret
“This poem was written early one morning on the train into my day job. I scribbled it off, typed it up weeks later and thought it was too basic to do anything further with. I think it’s a bit twee, and to be honest being seen as twee is my greatest fear.”
The Careless Queen, Fionnuala Ó Cathaláin By Suzanne Lavallee
“I wrote the Careless Queen at the beginning of June and spent the whole summer submitting it… It got rejected so many times, I decided I was done trying…even though it is one of my favorite short stories! I decided to submit it to Trash to Treasure Lit as a last attempt to get it out there before retiring it permanently.”
Longing for Fields by Hana Noel
“I felt like it came out sort of dumb, and didn’t know if I really liked it. Thought it was too obvious of a poem.”
Northern City Girl by Leah Mueller
“I never did anything with this poem for three reasons: 1. I was in a foul mood when I wrote it. 2. The tone came off as mean-spirited and one-sided. 3. The poem is overly self-referential, as it specifically pertains to Bisbee, Arizona, where I live.”
Evaporate by Leah Mueller
“This poem simply wasn’t going anywhere, so I abandoned it and went to bed.”
Phoning It In by Leah Mueller
“This poem seemed rather short and pointless, although one of my friends thought it was brilliant. He’s really into dreams. I couldn’t figure out what the hell to do with it, however.”
Winter Solstice Festivals of Light with the Mostest, or Leastest by Gerard Sarnat
“I abandoned these pieces a year ago because they didn't ringading last winter, but here we are again almost (in my Northern Hemisphere though not down under).”
The Queen and Her Tea Leaves by Charlie Bowden
"‘The Queen and Her Tea Leaves’ was based on the intense media presence the royal family have had in the UK in the past year and exploring the sought-after private life of a fictional queen consort. I was originally concerned that the title just referring to "The Queen" would lead to confusion about the poem's content but those who I showed it to seemed enthusiastic so I decided to leave the title as is.”