Dust of Snow

by Robert Frost

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued.

I sometimes use this poem in my haiku workshops to show the difference between objectivity (first part) and subjectivity (second part). Another way to put this is that first stanza shows, while the second stanza tells. Haiku tend to aim more towards the first part of this poem (minus “The way”), and seek to trust the image to show rather than tell. Telling can sometimes be fine in other poems, though.