Ode to Punctuation by Gloria Heffernan

Ode to Punctuation

Comma,
Pause and connection,
gentle invitation to take a breath

Parentheses
(A brief distraction)
in the middle of everything

Ellipses
A suggestion of space…
but a clue that something is missing

Semi-colon
Grammatical homage to healthy relationships;
two independent clauses connected forever

Period
I tend to avoid this one
since I am not a great fan of endings.

So always, I return to the comma,
patient tour guide along the winding trail of thought
who says, take your time, follow me, I’ll get you there,
eventually.

*

Gloria Heffernan’s most recent poetry collection is Fused (Shanti Arts Publishing). Her craft book, Exploring Poetry of Presence (Back Porch Productions) won the CNY Book Award for Nonfiction. She received the 2022 Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Prize. Gloria is the author of the collections Peregrinatio: Poems for Antarctica (Kelsay Books), and What the Gratitude List Said to the Bucket List, (New York Quarterly Books). To learn more, visit: www.gloriaheffernan.wordpress.com.