As you came up the hill. We met. But all
We did that day was mingle great and small
Footprints in summer dust as if we drew
The figure of our being less that two
But more than one as yet. Your parasol
Pointed the decimal off with one deep thrust.
And all the time we talked you seemed to see
Something down there to smile at in the dust.
(Oh, it was without prejudice to me!)
Afterward I went past what you had passed
Before we met and you what I had passed.

~ Robert Frost

There are several anecdotes about the life and struggles of the famous American poet, Robert Frost, but one in particular stands out.  Before Frost gained a successful reputation, he sent a selection of his poems to The Atlantic Monthly.  However, his work was returned to him along with a note that read, “We regret that The Atlantic has no place for your vigorous verse.” 

Later, after Frost had sold his farm and moved to England with his wife and children, he published his first collection of poems at the age of 39.  A Boy’s Will was followed by North Boston in 1914, the latter gaining him international attention, as it contained some of his most celebrated work, including “After Apple-Picking”, “Mending Wall” and “Home Burial”.   

When he returned to New Hampshire a year later, The Atlantic Monthly contacted him and asked to publish some of his pieces.  Frost sent the editor the same poems that had previously been rejected.