Tristan Robert Lange
This Christmas Night
This poem is the debut of a new poetic form, “Revelatory Cascade”.
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Crackling embers pop in bursts of charred pine
On the hearth this heavenly Christmas night.
My heart, though filled with such joy, is heavy.
Sparkling embers crack in flares of charred pine.
And, though a divine time, I find I cry.
I am not even, honestly, sure why
My heart, though filled with warm joy, is weighty
As popping embers rise in wafts of pine
And my family sips wine, opens gifts.
This time, though divine, causes me to cry.
Truthfully, I am not sure as to why.
As crackling sounds rise with scents of fir pine
This heart of mine is feeling so heavy
Yet my family sips wine, opens gifts.
How could it have ever come down to this?
In this divine though mournful time, I cry
And I am so at a loss as to why.
Crackling embers popping beneath charred pine
As my heart, though joyful, is damn heavy
And my fam’ly, without me, opens gifts
Because, I realize, they can’t see me.
So confused how it ever came to this—
In this lonesome time I’m left here to cry;
I’m no longer at a loss as to why.
My heart, bled dry of its joy, is weighty
Away from the embers scented with pine,
The family, sipping wine, opens gifts.
It will never go back to how it was,
Because, I now know, they cannot see me,
In this hellish time I’m left here to cry
And I am not at a loss as to why;
My cold, transparent heart is so heavy.
The living family sips wine, opens gifts
Near crackling embers wafting with charred pine
On the hearth this horrible Christmas night.
© 2024 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
POET’S NOTE: Meter: Pentameter. Form: Revelatory Cascade. This form, to my knowledge, is newly created for this poem. It consists of 35 lines and incorporates a cascading or expanding stanza structure with an intricate line repetition pattern. The form is structured to produce a gradual reveal of the central theme or point as its stanzas grow in line length, creating a cascading effect. It is from this that the form takes its name. While this poem is written in pentameter, there is no metrical requirement for this form. Here are the form’s specific rules:
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Revelatory Cascade
created on Wednesday, December 25, 2024 by Tristan Robert Lange
A 35-line poetic form
Structure:
• 7 stanzas with expanding line counts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 lines
• A total of 35 lines
Repetition: Pattern
• There are 8 repeating lines (L1 through L8) that form the core structure of the poem.
• L9 is unique and appears only once in the final stanza.
• The repetition follows this specific pattern throughout the expanding stanzas:
Stanza 1 (2 lines): L1, L2
Stanza 2 (3 lines): L3, L1, L4
Stanza 3 (4 lines): L5, L3, L1, L6
Stanza 4 (5 lines): L4, L5, L1, L3, L6
Stanza 5 (6 lines): L7, L4, L5, L1, L3, L6
Stanza 6 (7 lines): L8, L7, L4, L5, L3, L6, L1
Stanza 7 (8 lines): L9, L8, L4, L5, L3, L6, L1, L2
Key elements:
• L1 appears in every stanza.
• L2 only appears in the first and last stanzas.
• L7 is introduced in Stanza 5 as the Revelatory Spark or turning point and is not repeated in the concluding stanza.
• L9 is unique to the final stanza and does not repeat.
• Each repetition should be modified slightly to show progression or change.
This structure is essential to the Revelatory Cascade form, creating a complex interweaving of repeated lines that supports the gradual revelation central to the form.