Word Breaks

I rise from the bed, make coffee, drink the obligatory first cup, sending me racing to the "salle de bain" to begin a day of eliminating the negative, accentuating the positive, as Bing Crosby instructed in our youthful days. I select from a stack of magazines, one, waiting to be opened, read about the history of chess and young grandmasters, considering that at 80, grandmistress of nothing, I should teach myself chess, swim good enough to compete, sky dive into the air over my island beneath a sexy instructor, coupling with the clouds. Instead I cut out paper dolls: a poem by Donald Hall, hoping it will teach me improved line breaks. His, are impeccable. Who is this guy and why do I love him? Then on the credits page, "Former poet laureate". No wonder, I say, no freaking wonder! I once asked my workshop director from a former life in Atlanta, "Just how important are line breaks?" HUGE, he replies. "Rats." I say, "never be a poet." Still, I want to be a scary, frightening poet like Robinson Jeffers. I go where the pain is, try couplets, take out all adjectives, see what's left, watch participles; turn, counter-turn, and stand. The word at the end of any line is most important. Break on nouns, verbs, and the words that describe them: "When the blackberries hang / swollen in the woods," (Mary Oliver) Timing, as in most things, is everything, and I have just broken all the rules