boy's deck shoes
a paisley tie, pink and torn
compression socks
thin legs wrapped in loose capris
a plainclothes cop in the ladies' room
NeverEnding Story, November 2, 2024
Lorraine Pester
Commentary: Juxtaposed with the detailed description of one's dressing style through a list of items, "deck shoes, torn pink paisley tie, compression socks, loose capris" in Ls 1-4, L5 changes the register from image-based description to a declarative statement: a "plainclothes cop in the ladies' room."
This surprising, even startling statement about a plainclothes "cop" (one of the "most masculine" professions for men) in the "ladies' room," shows something about his sexual orientation or "gender performance/role." It can carry charged implications, and it means the tanka will be interpreted through cultural lenses, such as privacy, gender, surveillance ...
This list tanka also works well as a character/persona tanka. What's left unsaid is at least as potent as what's stated.
FYI: For more about list tanka, see "To the Lighthouse: List Tanka."
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