Caesura
Caesura is a stop or pause in a metrical line, often marked by punctuation or by a grammatical boundary, such as a phrase or clause.
via Poetry Foundation
Example
"Deciding" by Edgar Kunz
I say it out loud: I’m
gonna go. And the slow walk
up the drive. And my brother
growing heavy
in my arms.
Prompt
Even though the caesura is often paired with punctuation, it is good practice to try and find the natural pause in your own work – punctuated or not.
Write a poem with no punctuation (You can always revise it with punctuation after the exercise if needed).
Pull out your phone and record yourself reciting it.
Play it back and take notes of where you paused line by line.
Where does this happen in the poem?
Do you notice a trend?
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