Organizing poems in a chapbook

A lot has been written about how to determine the order of poems in a chapbook. I've put together only a few, but I discovered that--in each case--my instinct was the overriding factor in my decision-making.  

The most difficult part, for me, was deciding which poem to place first in the order. In each case, I chose a poem that somehow "told the story" of the collection, or at least captured the overall theme of the chapbook. This wasn't easy, just as choosing a title wasn't easy. There were several candidates in every case, and I did my best to "become" a reader who had never seen these poems before.

I read each possible opening poem and asked myself how I would feel if I were that reader. Would I be captivated? Confused? Enlightened? And then I made my best determination about choosing the very important first poem.

After selecting a lead poem, I generally don't find it too difficult to figure out the rest of the order. Some poems obviously belong in their own group (same subject matter, or linked subjects), so I gather those and treat them as a unit. Choosing the final poem is difficult, and--again--I rely on my best judgment of what "feels" cohesive.

Recently, I experienced something interesting when I was organizing a chapbook. None of the poems in it had been published (an unusual occurrence); in fact, they are so interdependent, I'm not sure that any could be published individually. I did what I always do (and what I think most poets do)--I printed them, then laid them on the floor so that I could have an "aerial" view of them before I began the organization shuffle. 

But nothing happened. I had no idea which to choose as the first poem or which should come after what. So I picked the entire group up from the floor, and--once I was holding them in my hands--the chapbook order became obvious. Our brain is part of our body, and it likes to work with its counterparts!