Lightning or Lightning Bugs?

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." - Mark Twain

Good poets slave over their poems trying to find the "right" word. Whether it is changing a word, switching the perspective of the poem, experimenting with the form, or moving sentences around; a good poet revises a poem numerous times before it is finally read.

Let's look at an example from Robert Frost and see if we can spot the difference between lightning and lightning bugs.

Here is Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice":

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Now let's change some of the words to words with similar meanings...

Some say the world will conclude in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve known of desire
I hold with those who think fire.
But if it had to die twice,
I believe I know enough of hate
To say that for devastation ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Doesn't have the same "punch" does it? What if we change the perspective?

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what you've tasted of desire
You hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
You think you know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

This time when we changed the perspective from "I" to "You" and it changed the meaning of the entire poem.

Sometimes writing poetry is just experimenting with combinations of words to create lightning.

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