How to End a Poem
There is no way to end a poem
As it will end itself,
But if the pen won't stem its flow
The guides below may help:
Like the plague or creeping pox
Avoid a summary ending;
End your poem with images
Or surprising anecdote,
Or words which echo or recall
The sounds that went before;
Instead of floating freely
Upon a brackish sea,
Anchor your poem securely
In its reality;
Use an apt comparison
Like a stardust stampede in the sky
Or a contrite choir of crickets;
Shock the complacent
From their somnolence;
Close with musical chords
Which promise a resolve.
There are as many ways to end
A poem and yet there is not one
For poems will oft communicate
Exactly when they're done.
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Submitted on August 16, 2017
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 8 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XXXXXXXXXXAAAABXX XXXXXBXB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 675 |
Words | 125 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 17, 8 |
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"How to End a Poem" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/73848/how-to-end-a-poem>.
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