The SHORT HYMNAL OCTAVE is an eight-line poem that alternates between iambic tetrameter (lines 3 and 7) and iambic trimeter (lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8) with rhyme scheme abababab.


Example by Jan Haag:

#117 Short Hymnal Octave

The pattern of morning's black
silence, of emptiness, rain
is ripped by the alarm of greed, of lack.
With more respect for gain,
and a very backhanded knack
for security in vain.
Please get rid of your protected stack,
so we can ignore your pain.