Revelatory Cascade Form
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.
Example. The following is the first poem written in this specific form:
This Christmas Night
Crackling embers pop in bursts of charred pine (L1)
On the hearth this heavenly Christmas night. (L2)
My heart, though filled with such joy, is heavy. (L3)
Sparkling embers crack in flares of charred pine. (L1)
And, though a divine time, I find I cry. (L4)
I am not even, honestly, sure why (L5)
My heart, though filled with warm joy, is weighty (L3)
As popping embers rise in wafts of pine (L1)
And my family sips wine, opens gifts (L6)
This time, though divine, causes me to cry. (L4)
Truthfully, I am not sure as to why. (L5)
As crackling sounds rise and scents of fir pine (L1)
This heart of mine is feeling so heavy (L3)
Yet my family sips wine, opens gifts (L6)
How could it have ever come down to this? (L7)
In this divine, though mournful time, I cry (L4)
And I am so at a loss at to why. (L5)
Crackling embers popping under charred pine (L1)
As my heart, though joyful, is damn heavy (L3)
And my fam’ly, without me, opens gifts (L6)
Because, I realize, they can’t see me. (L8)
So confused how it ever came to this— (L7)
In this lonesome time I’m left here to cry; (L4)
I’m no longer at a loss as to why. (L5)
My heart, bled dry of its joy, is weighty (L3)
Away from the embers scented with pine (L1),
The family, sipping wine, opens gifts. (L6)
It will never go back to how it was, (L9)
Because, I now know, they cannot see me, (L8)
In this hellish time I’m left here to cry (L4)
And I am not at a loss as to why; (L5)
My cold, transparent heart is so heavy. (L3)
The living family sips wine, opens gifts (L6)
Near crackling embers wafting with charred pine (L1)
On the hearth this horrible Christmas night. (L2)
© 2025 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
Originally published on MyPoeticSide.com, December 26, 2024.
Tittu
Tristan Robert Lange 