What’s in a period (.)?

In a world of abbreviated words and letters dropped

I realized that inadvertently I had stopped

Using the fundamental punctuation tool, the humble period (.)

The reasons for this were perhaps myriad-

While typing out patient notes detailed

I skimped on the number of characters typed, so I would not fail

To complete patient charts on time

(That could place my perceived competence on line)

I reasoned, complete sentences I hardly ever used

Writing in succinct phrases made notes easier to be perused

By all those who needed quick comprehension

Of my impression in a sea of redundant information

Unlike sentences, phrases are not obligated

To end in periods, as long as they are situated

Far from each other (in separate lines)

Lack of punctuation works just fine..

**

Apart from patient notes, when my thoughts I want to share

In verse I write, and poets notoriously do not care

For punctuation- the entire poem can run

Without any marks- period, exclamation or question..

**

Sometimes I think of the dropped period in terms philosophical-

Open-ended I leave every thought, making it plausible

To interpret my writing in multiple ways

Add some more words to embellish what I say..

**

In a world where dropped vowels now constitute

Acceptable ways to spell, I tend to refute

Popular texting styles, using full words everywhere

All I have done is made the period disappear

From my writing, may be one day I shall return

To full sentences in prose with proper punctuation