the thunderous roar
of snowmelt as it merges
with a quiet creek
This is a fine Sketch from Life haiku. The poet offers an objective description of the scene with no subjective, figurative, or anthropocentric elements added to it. The turn of thought is wedded to the images, which are allowed to speak for themselves. What impresses me the most is the scope and scale of the poem. We hear (and see) the thunderous roar of a river rapids, swelling as the meltwater joins it. Then, looking a bit further down and off to one side, there is quiet creek branching off into stillness. The juxtaposition captures the tremendous power of melting snowpack, and the inherently
contemplative quietness of water—a state to which it is forever returning…over and over again. —Clark Strand