Octacula is BACK!

Oct 1, 201620 min read

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kiwi-damnation

Published: Oct 1, 2016

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Octacula is here!

Welcome to the second year of Octacula! In honour of October and all it cree-eights, Octacula shall reign throughout the entirety of the month. I am aware that it sits as the tenth month, but by its very name, it is all about the eights, baby. (Because while October is the tenth month, Oct is eight. I am sticking to that

)

Octacula features eight forms divided into two groups. The first group consists of:

Form-idable foes

Chant Royal: The Chainsaw Wielding Psychopath

The Chant Royal is a murderous French form, invented by Christine de Pizan and Charles D'Orléans in the 15th century. It consists of five 11-line stanzas with the rhyme scheme [a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-e-d-E] (E is a refrain) and either a 5-line [d-d-e-d-E] or a 7-line [c-c-d-d-e-d-E] envoi (finishing stanza). The biggest obstacle in a Chant Royal however, is the fact that the same rhyme sounds have to play out throughout the piece and you can't use the same end word twice. It's best to choose a common rhyme sound like eye or bee, otherwise you will run out of words to rhyme and it will unravel.

It doesn't have a set meter type as such, but it is often written in iambic tetrameter or pentameter.

Two examples for your perusal

Exploring ThoughtsLament about the past- digress,
Emotions flitting into sight,
Fury, pain and bitterness,
Such feelings plaguing me this night,
And all I want is to be free,
From all these hateful memories,
I want these moments to repair,
My heart from all the guilt I bear,
So forgiveness takes it place,
To mend each rip and frightful tear,
There's nothing in life I'd replace.
I breathe and I believe - express!
Through every word I hereby write,
Releasing bitterness suppressed,
Though nothing happens overnight,
The darkness taints all that I see,
Twist music to cacophony,
And leaving all to seem unfair,
When I'm the one who chose despair,
As I have run from love's embrace,
Towards a victimized nightmare,
There's nothing in life I'd replace.
We learn to live, I must profess,
From every struggle, crucial fight,
As I am craving happiness,
I hold this anger very tight,
And in the process, steal from me,
The right to live life blissfully,
How will I fare? How will I fare?
If all within me is laid bare,
I pr and Yet Barely BegunDesperate desires with unyielding hearts,
Care not my dear for you are quite safe,
I’d wither; I’d die if we mortally part,
Forever I’ll hold you, till the ending of days,
For you are my solace, my comforting light,
You drive away darkness, the unending night,
With not even a thought to your own secret pain,
You’d give up your life if mine were but slain,
In our bodies we’re two, in spirit just one,
Your life is the blood that doth flow through the veins!
This union is strong, yet barely begun.
Your caress brings my soul from the smothering dark,
On your beautiful presence my life I will stake,
And on your soft skin I will now make my mark,
With love I shall bind us in oaths we can’t break,
For you are the one who can bring me delight,
Rescue me from my pitiless plight,
From dastardly deeds I could never refrain,
Where now it is simple to merely abstain,
You make me complete, the process is done,
Control of my life I no longer retain,
This union is strong,

Grá Reformata: The Paranormal Fear-Jockey

The Grá Reformata was created by Michael King as a variation of the popular form villanelle. It is 27 line poem that features couplets in between classic villanelle tercets.

The rhyme/refrain scheme is as follows:

A1, b, A2| b, c| a, b, A1| b, c| a, b, A2|b, c| a, b, A1| b, c| a, b, A2| a, b, A1, A2|

Two examples for your perusal

Time and TideSweet history, near infinite your sea,
Wave on wave, relentless to your shore.
Come now and pave a mystery for me.
As humankind has known so long before,
The beauty of the stars is in their age
And I look up, no need to disagree
Upon my lips. Oh no, not anymore.
Sweet history, near infinite your sea.
And I the poor young beggar at your door,
Grown knocking, knocking; grown into a sage
Aware, enamored of the thought of thee,
Pounding on the shore of time, ignored.
Come now, and pave a mystery for me.
For I hear well approaching, like a roar
The day for which all beggars pay their wage;
Surrendered to the timekeeper's decree
And hopeful of a quiet, trojan war--
Sweet history, near infinite your sea.
And I remain your siren, paramour,
Calling out your virtues from the stage.
There is an e'er unfolding light to see
In hist'ry's pages, if you look, explore;
Come now, and pave a mystery for me.
I shall remain a captive devotee
For I have looked to learn from days of yore;
Sweet history, near and The Doctor's Interlude (DFC 2014)Through time and space, a metal box shambles;
a wizened gray man holds tight to controls
as brakes growl and history scrambles.
"I'm the Doctor! I choose where we amble!"
Stars surrounding the box slow, stuttering--
for some minutes, a long-winded ramble
leaves the Doctor reaching for his lost soul.
Through time and space, a metal box shambles
as metal men walk across Earth below.
Adjusting his sleeves, he frowns, muttering.
"I don't know, I don't know. It's a gamble."
Across the wide TARDIS, the Doctor strolls
as brakes growl and history scrambles.
The lurching box is too much to handle--
throwing levers, he keeps it hovering
to survey the world's flat-footed mammals
kept straight in strict lines by metal patrols.
Through time and space, a metal box shambles
as the Doctor searches for a loophole--
a way to break without discovery
the metal men's harsh, destructive mantle.
In a run-away box, the Doctor holds
as brakes growl and history scrambles.
For some moments, a long-winded ramble

Pentelloum: The Psychological Mind Fuck Master

The pentelloum was devised by haijinik and it is a combination of the villanelle and the pantoum. Any meter or syllabic count is fine, just be consistent throughout the piece. It features at least two 5-line stanzas with refrains and a strict rhyme scheme. The first and last lines of the first stanza invert and are used in the last stanza.

The template below is a three stanza template.

A1, B1, A2, B2, A3 | B1, C1, B2, C2, B3 | C1, A3, C2, A1, C3 |

Two examples for your perusal

Lullabyyou can rest your head on my shoulder
don't let the world just pass you by
the pastel sky blends together
a soothing sight for restless eyes
drift off lightly as a feather
don't let the world just pass you by
birds croon for the lingering breeze
a soothing sight for restless eyes
a lullaby to tempt your dreams
allow yourself to fantasize
birds croon for the lingering breeze
drift off lightly as a feather
a lullaby to tempt your dreams
you can rest your head on my shoulder
just rest your weary eyes and sleep and EveningThe capillary rasp of tongues,
I know nothing but chattering
As warm air trades its place with young;
A shiver starts resurfacing
Within the walls of little lungs.
I know nothing but chattering,
Wintery gust I taste your braid;
A shiver starts resurfacing
As degrees fall in centigrade,
The weaving wind is circling.
Wintery gust I taste your braid
Within the walls of little lungs,
As degrees fall in centigrade
The capillary rasp of tongues
Will end all things that I have said.

Diebhidhe: The Deliberate Sociopath

The Diebhidhe is a Gaelic form with features quatrains of 7 syllables a line, at least 2 alliterations per line, light rhyming in couplets (aabb) and a lot of alliteration and cross rhyming in the 3rd and 4th line of each stanza.

Two examples for your perusal

Mage

Blasted blistered roots of trees,
limbs askew in knotted knees,
darkling bark of branches grows-
turning back, my fever flows,
Maudlin madness chills my veins,
wretched reek of death remains -
draws me dreaming to this place,
sallow streams and wallowed waste.
Twisted thoughts begin to creep
into woods where willows weep.
Turning twice I light the flame
no one there to bear my shame.
Burning bright, my sacrifice
beacon blazing in the night
warning all who wander here
that God's truth will cost them dear. and DFC XXVIII. Diebhidhe: Dawn to DustYes I fight you--yes for us
A raging love's rightful lust
New becoming day by day,
Loving woes and wants away.
Yes, I trust you--yes to you
Hold my heart, marked whole and new,
Full of darkness, feigned delight
Reigns the noiseless rule of night.
When I love, what have I left?
You have brought me all your best.
This shall carry, shorn and cruel
Married, mournful, forlorn, a fool.
All I am in pockets pressed
All our poor souls once possessed
Each to other, eager, thrust
Beseech thee, lover, dawn to dust.

To challenge them we have…

Feight-ful heroes unlucky victims

Octelle: The First To Die (the person who always goes into the haunted place/ yells “Hello” to random shadows coming towards them)

The Octelle was created by Emily Romano. It consists of one 8-line stanza using personification and symbolism in a story telling manner. The syllabic count is 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7, 8, 8 with the rhyme scheme is A1,A2,b,b,c,c,A1,A2.

Two examples for your perusal

Psyche of the GalaxiesPsyche of the Galaxies
~Dylan Wheeler
There's so much more than Earthen ground,
Above the sky; a realm just found,
Telescope and satellite,
Holes sulk black, stars brag bright,
Comets race past neutron stars,
Planets fear tyrant quasars,
There's so much more than Earthen ground,
Above the sky; a realm just found.
© Dylan Wheeler 2009 and Little DrumLittle Drum
23-12-14
Oh the little drum is talking,
Whilst the drummer boy is walking.
Can you hear its sweetest song
As the drummer walks along?
Can you feel it keep the time
Whilst the drummer walks in line?
Oh the little drum is talking,
Whilst the drummer boy is walking.

Octain Refrain: Comedic Relief/Token Minority (Dies halfway through while repeating tired stereotypical phrases)

The Octain or Octain Refrain is a form developed by Luke Prater. It consists of eight lines structured Abb, aca, bA.

It can also be presented as A, bba, cab, A with the two refrains wrapping around the two tercets. The fifth line (c) should have some internal rhyme in it.

Two examples for your perusal

DFC 2014 4: Widow's WalkWe spent a summer by the sea.
The crested waves the shore confined
shall now my weary spirit bind.
I lack all longing to be free.
Is there a tryst I would not risk,
some task to which I'd not agree
if we could go back to that time
we spent a summer by the sea? and Fair WarningBeware the jabberwock my son!
with fury like a winter storm,
skin-lashing, hell of lightning formed,
this is no tale of cobwebs spun,
do not mistake me for a fake,
seen I the men who've been undone,
still steaming, aye, their corpses warm,
beware the jabberwock my son.

Trois-par-Huit: The Nerd/Logical One (Tried to tell Octelle not to be a dumb ass).

Trois-par-Huit or Three by Eight was created by Lorraine M Kanter and consists of three stanzas totaling 8 lines. The orientation can either be 3, 3, 2 OR 3, 2, 3. The syllabic count builds and then shrinks (3, 6, 9, 12, 12, 9, 6, 3). It is meant to be centred on the page. The last line is the title of the poem and summarises the content of the poem. The rhyme scheme is: aab, bbc, cc OR aab, bb, ccc.

Two examples for your perusal

Dec 9th - Seeing BlackNight so deep
Crawling, begging for sleep
This one escape, sweetest bliss of all
A calming dream, disrupted by the sudden fall
A hit by realization, a quick recall
Of all the work, weighing on the back
Pushing through, deadline crack
Seeing black and Shaping Thin (DFC 2014)The monster
lurks, a masked impostor
laying claim to space beneath warm skin.
She stays locked 'tween my ribs, my hidden conjoined twin--
raking long nails across sharp bones, shaping me thin.
I beg and I scream. "Please let me be!"
But such strong doubts don't leave.
She is me.

Ottava Rima: The Lucky Bastard (The one with the least amount of skill, but a hell of a lot of luck)

Ottava rima is a very old form, originating back before Medieval Europe, being the inspiration for Bocaccio and Chaucer. It rhymes abababcc. It is traditionally done in iambic pentameter.

Two examples for your perusal