We have a special guest poetry writer this week: year 10 work experience student Tegan Reinschidmt-Ryan! Tegan has chosen to shine our poetry spotlight on ‘What the Creek Said’ by Mike Ladd, from his latest collection Now–Then: New and selected poems.

Post written by Tegan Reinschmidt-Ryan

This poem caught my attention immediately because I’ve always been a sucker for personification, and the ongoing dialogue from the creek is right up my alley. I adore framing objects (especially objects of nature) as something that is alive, and something that notices you just as much as you notice it.

In this piece, the creek talks to Mike Ladd about his childhood, reminding him about what he’s lost in the water, childhood regrets and memories. This gives the creek wisdom but also lends its personality a little mean streak (in my opinion) as it brings up all the good things that are gone, and the emptiness of what is left.

Then the creek talks about its desires, which are exactly what you’d think a creek would want: its banjo frog friends to come back, the natural balance returning.

The last thing I have to talk about is this poem’s captivating form. The layout of the words gives it the flow and shape of a creek which is just a beautiful idea that enhances the poetry a hundred times over. Truly inspiring.