Question

read the excerpt from \digging\
till his straining rump among the flowerbeds
bends low, comes up twenty years away
stooping in rhythm through potato drills
where he was digging.

read the haiku by bashō.
on the way to the outhouse—
the white of the moonflower
by torchlight.

how does the structure of these poems differ?
\digging\ attempts to capture a moment in the distant past, while bashōs haiku speculates about the future.
\digging\ jumps from the present time to the past, while bashōs haiku captures a single moment in time.
\digging\ describes a moment in the present time, while bashōs haiku jumps back in time.
\digging\ speculates about the future, while bashōs haiku commemorates a time from the distant past.

Explanation:

The excerpt from Digging starts with a present image ("Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds") then shifts twenty years back to a past digging scene. Bashō's haiku focuses on one immediate, specific moment: encountering a moonflower by torchlight on the way to an outhouse, with no time shifts.

Answer:

"Digging" jumps from the present time to the past, while Bashō's haiku captures a single moment in time.