Victoria over at dVerse invites us to find poetry through the erasure of lines from a larger text. I go big with this excerpt from Basho:
The glory of three generationsof Fujiwara vanished in the space of a dream; the remains of the Great Gate stood two miles in the distance. Hidehira’s headquarters had turned into rice paddies and wild fields. Only Kinkeizan, Golden Fowl Hill, remained as it was. First, we climbed Takadachi, Castle-on-the-Heights, from where we could see the Kitakami, a broad river that flowed from the south. The Koromo River rounded Izumi Castle, and at a point beneath Castle-on-the-Heights, it dropped into the broad river. Theancient ruins of Yasuhiraand others, lying behind Koromo Barrier, appear to close off the southern entrance and guard against the Ainu barbarians. Selecting his loyal retainers, Yoshitsune fortified himself in the castle, but his gloryquickly turned to grass.“The state is destroyed, / rivers and hills remain. / The city walls turn to spring, / grasses and trees are green. “With these lines from Tu Fu in my head, I lay down my bamboo hat, letting the time and tears flow (Shirane, pp. 237-8).
My haiku:
three generations
ancient ruins of Yasuhira
quickly turned to grass
Frank J. Tassone 
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