A list tanka, a subgenre of list poetry, is a deliberately organized 5-line poem containing a list of things or images that build up to describe the poem’s subject matter. Thematically or emotionally speaking, a list tanka can be divided into two contrasting parts with the last line having the most weight. A list tanka often concludes with a startling or surprising phrase or image.
For example, the following tanka by M. Kei:
a migraine,
a pill,
a sweltering afternoon,
clouds without rain,
days without love
January, A Tanka Diary, 2013
The first four lines show the N's daily activities in the forms of illness (L1), medication (L2), and weather impact (L3) and observation (L4), and the last line reveals the N's existential state of life (L5).
And his tanka below could be read as a prequel
no love notes
to be found
except those
that I wrote
in my imagination
NeverEnding Story, January 24, 2024
To conclude today's post, I would like to share with you the newest entries, XXXVIII and XXXIX, of Game Show, 2024:
written in response to the Super Tuesday results
a row of flags
the same old blonde-haired man
a roomful of USA!s
flashing cell phones held high
deaths of children far away
written in response to Joe Biden's Absurdist theatrics in the State of the Union address
the old man raising his fist
more than 1000 troops
working day and night for two months
a floating pier done
the smell of rotting corpses with flies
FYI: List poems are an ancient tradition in poetry. There are examples in Homer's The Iliad and in the Bible. Eighteen-century English poet Christopher Smart, whose poetry was known for its "visionary power, Christian ardor, and lyrical virtuosity," composed a famous list poem, "from Jubilate Agno," which details all the daily activities of his cat Jeoffrey.
For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in....
Read its full text here
And Democarcy Now, March 4: U.S. Airdrops Food to Gaza While Arming Israel to Drop Bombs
Palestinian health officials say at least 16 children have died in recent days from starvation and dehydration as Israel’s assault continues. UNICEF warns the number of child deaths will likely “rapidly increase” unless the war ends.
Added: The following entry is a sequel to XXXVIII:
Build Back (Much) Worse
Game Show, 2024, XL
written on International Women's Day
white raven on the roof ...
the same old man and his staff
patch and stitch
and slap together pieces
of past promises
Israel kills
two mothers every hour!
drowned out
by rolling chants of Four More Years!
as the storm clouds gather
FYI: The white raven is the extremely rare leucistic bird. It's not albino, evidenced by its striking sky-blue eyes, and it's believed to be a symbol of bad luck. The last time it was spotted was around Anchorage on Oct. 24 2023
And Democracy Now, March 8: Palestinian Women Prisoners Share Accounts of Inhumane Treatment, Sexual Assault
U.N. experts are calling for a probe into reports of sexual assault, torture and killing of Palestinian women prisoners by Israeli forces. The Palestinian Prisoner Society says an estimated 240 Palestinian women have been detained since October 7.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, XXIX: "period products"
written for International Women's Day
a circle of teens
making period products
out of scraps
of their makeshift tents ...
Gaza's night sky shades of red
FYI: Dust and small particles, trapped in the atmosphere by high pressure after the aerial bombing, turn the night sky shades of red/orange-red
And Haaretz, March 7: This Women's Day, Palestinian Women in Gaza Are Making Period Products Out of Tents
The Gazan women cutting off their hair in the face of a water crisis, surviving c-sections without anesthesia and fashioning period products from scraps are showing strength and ingenuity in impossible circumstances
According to the international non-governmental organization ActionAid, Gaza is now one of the most dangerous places for women, with seven killed every two hours.
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