Famously, Bill Howells and Henry James
Wrote to each other about the travails
Novelists endure while pursuing fame
And fortune. Their complaint? Incessant wails
About how hard it was to end their tales—
Rich brews rendered in impeccable prose
Detailing life’s complexity—derailed
By that swift unsatisfactory close.
How can writers simply end their stories?
How can their woven textures simply stop?
Real life doesn’t lend itself to glories,
Thus novels tend to finish with a plop.
I prefer the sonnet’s formal rigor
Craft that final couplet—pull the trigger.
(2/5/14)