Heading up

I'm working nights and haven't had a lot of time to work on my poem or do anything else for that matter, but I did wake with something on my mind. I was thinking about titles. What was in my mind was what part of a poem is the title. Sounds a bit daft but in my thinking every part of a poem has a part to play.
Hymns I notice usually have the first line as the title and use it for nothing more than that. It's handy if you haven't found the hymn when the singing starts but as far as I can see there is no more meaning to it than that. Some titles, a bit like hymns, seem like a reference point to identify a poem in a filing system rather than anything else. I prefer the kind of title that acts like a key for the poem. In this I mean that a certain tone is set by it or a piece of information is disclosed that is vital to the understanding of a poem. Some poems on first reading would make little sense without their titles. I particularly enjoy titles with a slight cryptic twist in this vein, that's the sadistic wordaholic in me.
Short titles for me are better than long ones and that's just a personal preference. I like to get into a poem quickly and so rambling titles annoy me. The title that I picked for my latest poem is about as long as I would ever want and I have weighed every word I assure you. It's meant to convey the key to the poem, which is being aware of your place in things(IE. the world, life, ministry, parish) to the point where you can appreciate and anticipate the effects of your actions. The poem is deliberately written so that the title adds this sense to it, I hope.
How do you use titles? what do you think of titles and how long are your titles.
I hope over the weekend to get another edition out with a new stanza, if I can find time.

Peace Dave.