Question

Read the excerpt from "How I Learned English.”

I watched it [the ball] closing in
Clean and untouched, transfixed
By its easy arc before it hit
My forehead with a thud.

The word thud helps readers visualize and understand that the ball came in

soft and slow
quick and smooth
hard and heavy
rough and dirty

Answer 1

hard and heavy

"Thud" suggests a dull, heavy impact — the ball hit with force rather than softly or smoothly.