That kind of gestalt — the subject moving toward the poet, the poet going out to meet it — is of course a romanticizing of how poetry occurs, accurate only in broad terms. Most poets would argue that, for them, the next line should be, “And then we revise a lot.” But Snyder in other poems shows his respect for the physical world, as if he knows that profound intimations are more often given off when the poet has sought precision rather than vision. The visionary / spiritual poet, we can be sure, keeps a clear eye on the boulders and the campfire.
-Stephen Dunn, Walking Light