Opening lines and closing lines
The first line decides whether people will listen. The last line decides what they remember. In the rest of the poem you can sometimes be a little sloppy, but not in these two places. Below are ways to open and close, with example lines you can adapt. Swap in the names and details and you have a first line straight away.
Six ways to open
- Let Sint speak himself. A poem from Sint feels like an event all by itself.
- With a question. Grabs attention at once.
- With an image. A short scene you are in straight away.
- With an exaggeration. Make a trait bigger than it is.
- With a form of address. Use the name, a pet name or a title.
- With a fact from the big book. Sint knows everything. (In the tradition, he keeps a big book with notes on everyone.)
Twelve opening lines to adapt
- This year Sint found a name in his book that he could not leave alone.
- Dear Anne, Sint made a little time for you.
- Who cycles through the rain every morning? That is you, Joris.
- The horse was already waiting, but Sint first had something to say about you.
- It was a quiet evening until Sint read your name.
- Dear Wouter, the big book kept falling open at your page.
- There is a man with a beard who has something to say about coffee.
- If there were a prize for loyalty to your chair, you would have had it for years.
- Tell me, Marieke, do you know what Sint saw when he looked through your window?
- Sit down for a moment, because this is about you, Pieter, and there is no need to be alarmed.
- The roof was wet, the chimney slippery, but Sint simply had to stop at your house.
- A hundred times Sint has looked up your name, and every time he had to laugh.
They promise something without giving it away and fit into one breath.
Six ways to close
- A warm sentence. After the teasing, say what you truly appreciate.
- A return to the beginning. Repeat the image from the opening, now with a different twist.
- A wish. For the coming year, small and concrete.
- An instruction. What the recipient must do now, especially handy with a surprise.
- A farewell from Sint. The horse is getting impatient, Sint has to move on.
- A soft punchline. One last small joke, without a sharp edge.
Twelve closing lines to adapt
- So now it is your turn: go ahead and unwrap, Sint has seen everything.
- Until next year, Anne, and do stay exactly as you are.
- The book closes, but your page stays open a little longer.
- Enjoy it, Joris, and cycle back carefully.
- Sint is off again, but his horse will think about your carrot for a long time.
- If you are reading this, you know it now: we love you, especially with coffee.
- Wouter, greetings from Sint, and a good chimney for next year.
- That was it again, we will see each other, hopefully with the tea already made.
- Marieke, look under the stairs now, that is where you will find the rest.
- Thank you for a year full of laughter, that is our own little exchange.
- And in case you had forgotten: Sint thinks you are a lovely person.
- Now we will say no more, except that you deserve it.
The last line of a poem may well be a little slower, softer and shorter than the rest. When you read aloud, leave a silence before the last line. That works better than an extra joke.
Signing off as Sint and Piet
The signature is the finishing touch of the game. Put it on a line of its own, outside the rhyme. Two ways:
- Short and classic. Just "Sint and Piet" at the bottom, with no further explanation.
- With a rhyming farewell. Two lines in which Sint says goodbye, with the name underneath.
An example of a rhyming farewell with signature:
Mijn paard wil verder, ik moet weg, dus dit is alles wat ik zeg. Sint en Piet
Roughly: My horse wants to move on, I have to go, so that is all I have to say. Sint and Piet
Making them fit together
Open and close the poem in the same tone. If you start with a question, let the last line be an answer. If you start with Sint in the big book, close with the closing of that book. Preferably write the opening and the closing last, then you know what the poem really says. The whole process is in the step-by-step plan. With a surprise, the closing works as a clue, see a poem for a surprise. Try them out in the writing studio.