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The use of the first two lines, in the manner of a refrain, to envelop the poem is an effect which greatly increases the emotional pressure of the poet's invocation. In the context of his three pledges, these lines of refrain undergo a gradual refinement of tone, so that the loftiness of the poet's initial address is transformed by the close of the poem into a tender appeal. The parallel circuit of the poem, with its song-like return to the beginning, fixes the subject before us, allows us to dwell upon it, yet invites subtle modulations of tone and meaning.

Sri Chinmoy plays upon the parallel structure with unending variety. In some cases, he links the members of a series by means of a rhetorical figure in which the last word of one clause becomes the first word of the next:

THE ONLY WAY

    Kneel down!
This is the only way to learn.

    Learn!
This is the only way to become.

    Become!
This is the only way to offer.

    Offer!
This is the only way to be.    (p. 150)

This form of logical invention enhances the vibrancy of the poem, that free and self-delighting spirit which impels the poet into the domain of a seemingly mathematical arrangement. The strength of the poem lies in its pyramid form, whereby each new advance absorbs the previous one. The unit of process in the poem is the verb. Thus it is through action that force is transferred from one maxim to another.

This particular linking effect is used by George Herbert in a number of poems. In "A Wreath," for example, he artfully imitates the stringing of a garland to lend force to his encomium: