Editorial Suggestions

Today marks a first for me - the receipt of editorial suggestions from a journal that will be publishing one of my poems in the coming months. The suggestions were small but significant, and could even be said to change the "voice" of the poem, including a move from present tense to past. However, I can see the editor's point, and in this case, I would rather agree to the changes, and have the poem published  with them, than argue my original "vision" and complicate the relationship. If it were another poem, or if the suggestions were not so well couched, I might have bristled or disagreed, might have stated my case and rejected the edits in some polite (or even, heaven forfend, passive-agressive) way. However, I am interested in this collaborative process, and I am flattered that someone would be engaged enough with the piece to offer an alternative view.

And besides all that, other circumstance today have made it clear that I could use a lesson in humility and in recognizing my weaknesses. Who am I to stand on principle when there is nothing much under that principle to hold me up for this particular poem? In the end, I have to thank the editor for their message and trust that the work is in good hands. I am learning. I will, I hope, always be learning.