This is the kind of rejection that I like to get:

Thanks very much for the three poems submitted, which I found interesting and intense. Unfortunately, they do not match the needs of the xxredactedxx. I appreciate the well-written submissions and your support for the xxredactedxx.

I redacted the name of the journal for obvious reasons, but I like getting rejection notices almost as much as acceptances simply because I like to read the sweet things that editors say. I’ve never got a really nasty rejection from anyone. At worst, they just didn’t comment on what they read. But I’ve been getting a lot more personal notes lately. I think that might be evidence that I’m getting warmer – even if I don’t get the cigar.