Which tense is often used to write a poem or story?

[Dennisnguyen]

Recently I have translated a Vietnamese poem into English.
And there was a little bit confused of using tenses in translation.
I don't know if there is any special rule in poem or story writing or not.
Would you mind reading and correcting the following paragraph for me, please?

"He threw a small stone,
Then found a large rock.
Struggling a lifetime
Was it large or small ?!?"
(...from one of my colleagues)

Dennis

[Wanderer]

Was it large or small or Is it large or small depends on your way of translating. If in direct speech it would be Is..... For other problems, in theory, you just need to use past tenses(if the story is written by a non-professional writer) or present tenses(if the story is written by a well known writer).
_________________
Let my English be checked!

[Kitosdad]

Tomorrow I'll be visiting my Auntie by the sea.
We'll take a walk, and then she'll buy fish and chips for me.

Should I continue?
Poetry can be written even using future tense.
_________________
Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Dennisnguyen]

Dear guys,
Thank you so much for your sharing.