Dear Roger and Arthur,
A particle as the closing line does give the impression of a weak
ending, but it is certainly not inevitable.
For instance, something like this:
Sea-sky
Gulls, terns,
circling, wheeling,
waiting for the bounty
of the trawler's rejects. Terns, gulls,
in tow.
Kind regards,
grasshopper
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Collett" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 5:51 PM
Subject: ....ings
> Sorry Arthur, I didn't answer your question re ..ings.
> I think it is both a factor of the form in that it requires a conclusion
in
> the last line, making present participles a necessity???? and inexperience
> on the writer's part. It was one of the first poems I wrote and I must
> consider if a cinquain needs them or not. Maybe I'll try one or two
without
> them and see what happens. The classic form is syllabic, not an English
> Language thing, and the lines should be of the form 2,4,6,8,2 syllables
> respectively and there is nothing wrong with running the lines over. I
think
> it is the nearest thing we have to Japanese haiku, as Karina said.
>
> Roger.
>
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