Why not read the poem stanza-by-stanza instead of line by line? 
{
  local $/ = "";  # two or more newlines in a row
  @stanzas = <POEM>;
}

# or

{
  local $/ = "\n\n";  # two newlines in a row
  @chunks = <POEM>;  # you might not get the same results
}

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_____________________________________________________
Jeff[japhy]Pinyan: Perl, regex, and perl hacker, who'd like a (from-home) job
s++=END;++y(;-P)}y js++=;shajsj<++y(p-q)}?print:??;

In reply to Re: Regular Expression Tweaking by japhy
in thread Regular Expression Tweaking by dooberwah

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