No exclamation points

A poem.

|
Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor
A bookend holds bestsellers in place on a bookshelf at The Book Cellar, an independent bookstore in Lincoln Square in Chicago, Illinois.

No exclamation points

in short stories, the teacher says.

They’ve been over-used and the reservoir is empty. 

When exclamation points rain from the sky

then we can use them.

But until then: Help. Run. Fire.

Perhaps this is why

it’s so hard to convey

the excitement

of an acceptance letter. 

Something is lost in

Wow. They’re publishing my book.

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