Doesn't have a name yet

I don't know what to call it. And my punctuation is in great need. Do I put periods at the end of a thought even though its a poem? Do I only put it at the end of a stanza? Also I need help with the last stanza I don't want to add another line, but it looks weird being 4 lines. 4 lines, then 3. So...HELP!

I wrap my arms around me tight
The nightly chill breaking my bones
I hear the tinkling of the rain around me,
getting nothing but colder.

I watch the sun dip behind the neglected earth,
my rickety, metal chair wheezing
The thin windbreaker clutching my torso,
longing for the warmth of home.

But I can never return
So I sit
the stars shining all around me.

Hey, Gift! Nice to meet you, I'm Evi. ^^ So, to address your questions:

Punctuation in Poetry

Really, it's up to you. Some people like to leave their poetry without any punctuation at all, although most of the more experienced poets frown upon that, so I think you need something. I, personally, like to punctuate my poetry exactly like I'd punctuate my prose or short stories. At the end of a sentence, put a period, and put commas where they're needed. That said, I'll go through your poem and add my recommended punctuation.

I wrap my arms around me tight [period here]
The nightly chill breaking my bones [period here, also]
I hear the tinkling of the rain around me, [correct use of comma! Good job]
getting nothing but colder.

See? That's just my personal preference, and I see a lot of poets do that. Generally you do need to put a period at the end of each stanza, because otherwise that would mean having a sentence stretched between two stanzas, which wouldn't flow very well. Thanks for asking, and you can ask me if you have any more questions.

You know? I really liked this, actually. I think it's short enough to be effective; much longer and it might get boring. However, your meanings were clear and your actions easy to picture. Your emotion came through. I only have a couple of issues with some lines.

I wrap my arms around me tight

You'd either need to try:

I wrap my arms around myself tightly.

or

My arms are wrapped around me tightly.

I like the second one, because it shows something being described instead of something being done, and we all love description. But either one works fine. Also:

my rickety, metal chair wheezing

I love the concept of a chair wheezing (personification, baby! ) but metal chairs are normally not associated with being rickety. Wood can be rickety, yes, but metal? Metal can be dented, uneven, lopsided, cold, sterile, and other such words. Not rickety, though. That would imply wood, such as a rocking chair.

So! Good job with this, Gift! I think the ending was perfectly fine; poets oftentimes end a poem with a shorter stanza than the previous ones, so don't worry about it. It gives off that oh-so-special 'effect'. See you around!

~Evi

I like this, but I think you need to develop it a bit. Why can't the narrator go home? What sense are we to take this in - is the narrator hopeful, meditative, wistful? I'm getting the sense that s/he's lonely, as emphasized by the cold, but I want some more context - you introduce the 'can never go home' a little too abruptly, IMHO.

Also, the first two stanzas were very...well, boring. I did this, I did that - nothing much to engage the reader. I like some of your images - the wheezing metal chair in particular - but they don't seem to serve much purpose. I don't know, I guess I felt the poem was a little too shallow to be a meditation but not shallow enough just to serve as a snapshot of a moment, you know? Perhaps you could try pushing your ideas a bit, brainstorming, seeing where they go and what you want to do with them.

As for punctuation, as a general rule of thumb just punctuate where you would with prose - full stops at the end of a sentence, capital letters at the beginning and for proper nouns, etc. Once you get the hang of things you can start playing with it a bit, but it's best to learn the rules before you bend or break them

Hope that helps, and thanks for upping your review count!

Cheers,
~bubbles

The punctuation was so-so, but I liked the description. If it wasn't 200 degrees in my house, I would have believed I was outside, enduring cold winds.
GREAT
-catfood