When one composes a traditional poem, one must consider the shape of a stanza, taking note of the length of its lines. There is a certain reassurance in a verse of uniform shape with lines of similar length, but in a poem describing the moods of the mist, a certain undulation is desirable.
The last stanza I usually find the most challenging. To neatly conclude the theme of the poem in gently alighting lines is to me a fount of distress.
As the multi-stanza direction (that is, the lyrical ballad) of “Mist from the Mountains” nears completion, two things become clear: that the other directions I wished to explore have become redundant, so integrated into its stanzas that they now strike me as academic, and that the title of the poem must be shortened to “Mist”, as “Mist from the Mountains” strikes me as needlessly long.
Forgotten Fields 