Having made the major decisions for the “Cranes and Sheep” poem, I am refining the final draft.

This can involve something as small as choosing the best determiner in a line: are the cranes on “a hilltop” or “the hilltop”? The former is vague and wistful, the latter, specific and delimiting; which is most enhancing to the poetic theme?

Or something more significant, like choosing the most evocative verb from an array of possibilities: does the lamb “frisk”, “bound”, “bounce”, “pounce” or “romp” in the flock? The meanings are similar, but which one elevates the stanza?

As always, some combination of inclination, skill and flair will help me settle on this word or that.