Not to Put Too Fine a Point on It

[deckardcanine]

Though Charles Schulz has influenced a lot of comic strips,
He did one thing I’ve never seen among cartoonist tips:
He ended declarations with two periods, not one.
Who else does that, and really, why’s the practice ever done?
Few sources have discussed it, so I’m simply left to guess:
His early long ellipses took up space and made a mess.
At times, he’d use no ending punctuation whatsoever.
That still is done today by some cartoonists who endeavor
To keep the mood quite casual, unless in imitation
Of headlines in the papers where they have their publication.
I doubt they keep the dots out just to save a bit of ink.
Schulz did use single periods a little, but I think
He found their tone too final, like the characters were sure
They had no more to say. A second period could blur
Distinction from a signal that they had a further thought.
Regardless, I’ll decline the supernumerary dot.