Poetic Musings: Without Love Tanka by M. Kei

a migraine,

a pill,

a sweltering afternoon,

clouds without rain,

days without love 

January, A Tanka Diary, 2013

M. Kei

Commentary: This poem is a fine example of list tanka, a subgenre of list poetry. It's a deliberately organized 5-line poem containing a list of things or images that build up to describe the poem’s subject matter. 

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).

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 more examples, see To the Lighthouse: List Tanka