"A DEAD MAN FELL FROM THE SKY..."

I had never heard of an "erasure" poem until I read GATSBY SUMMER NIGHT. I like the idea; it reminds me of Janet Reid's title-poem contest. So using the first page of The Pericles Commission -- I have Gary Corby's first two books in my to-read stack -- I 'wrote' an erasure poem.

A dead man at my feet

lay facedown in the dirt

shot through the heart.

The body was warm to the touch

his wound, slippery and wet

I heard the footsteps of someone coming

perhaps the killer

I stepped backward to take cover

I won't win any literary awards with that, but it was fun!

UPDATE: Gary Corby loved the poem and posted it on his website!

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