Faldage writes:

And I don't intend to start now.

And I'm with you, Faldage. However, if I were writing a formal paragraph in which I was referring to lines of poetry (and I do think "line of poetry" is very clear), I would think twice about whether I should (or even could) safely use the term "verse" to mean a line. This could be an example of a term that is becoming obsolete--much in the way I think the term "lyric" for the words in a song, most calling them lyrics, is becoming obsolete. I can't begin to recount the number of literature classes I've taken along the way, and I cannot think of a single prof who referred to a line of poetry as a single verse.

On a tangent, but related, I heard a very well-educated and accomplished conductor scold a youth orchestra musician for referring to a staff as a line. The youth had asked about a measure on, say, "The third line." The conductor scolded, "Lines appear on the staff. What you meant to ask m about was the measure on the third staff." This is another case of an educated person being very precise, yet the rest of the world referring to lines of music and easily understanding each other to mean staves. "Hey, drop down to the fourth line and begin practicing at the phrase beginning at the third measure!" I don't think there's anybody who'd have trouble knowing that the fourth line was the fourth staff on the page. I do teach my kids at school to refer to staves on a page as "the first staff," "the second staff," etc., and I also let them know that many musicians will refer to the same as "lines" of music. And I also tell them the story of the conductor who scolded the student musician for using "line" for "staff." May as well equip them for whatever comes their way.

Beat regards,
WW