The art of positioning text is not a wasted skill. For example:
It may be used to indicate a slight pause
—it’s more than a line break,
but less severe than a new stanza.
As a visual prompt
A visual prompt of the text can be an indication to the specific metre or rhyme scheme of the poem, hence enhancing what could be not so obvious to the reader, for example, in sonnets:
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
by Suzette Richards 2015
When you see the writing on life’s stark wall
do not let other’s opinions hold sway.
Life wouldn’t give you lights to prevent a fall.
No green, amber, or red to flag your way.
Through life’s busy highways, we navigate.
Warnings there might be, as well as guidance.
These customs and lessons taught, we will rate
and heed, even if it our hearts should lance.
We pay the price for the choices we make.
None will step up and own up to his advice.
None will dry our tears for those we’ve forsaken.
In ignorance, we rolled the loaded dice.
Rightly or wrongly: Dare to still walk tall.
The writing is on our life’s whitewashed wall!
It will assist you to ‘punctuate’ tanka
Triadic verse
In this step-down-line verse, the positioning of text per prescribed formula is a set requirement for the ‘variable foot’ designed by William Carlos Williams in the 1940s to lend structure to the open form (free verse). Each line is a single phrase, rather than relying on metre or number per syllables per line. Poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright William Carlos Williams is often said to have been one of the principal poets of the Imagist movement.
See my poem, Quiescent, for an example:
Quiescent (poetrysoup.com)
When creating shape or concrete poetry
See my earlier blog regarding shape/concrete poetry:
Shape/Concrete Poetry - How to achieve the desired shapes - Suzette Richards's Blog (poetrysoup.com)
I have now been experimenting with the positioning of the line/line fragments in my Suzette Prime poetry (much in the style of the turn of this century to date tanka*). See my poem, Equanimity.
Equanimity (poetrysoup.com)
The above are only a few examples of the value of using the versatile positioning of text to enhance the reading experience of others.
Wishing everyone a great weekend.
Happy quills!
Suzette
*GOOD READS
Tanka Society of America