The list of things you can’t know
Includes songs of the New Hebrides –
How to whistle south of the Solomons,
And arias of who died in the Coconut War.
You laugh, but it is not your sons
Who are fallen.
I insist on archipelagos,
Obscure republics and music of the spheres;
You teach me to recognize my mother,
Distant in the constellation of Virgo.
Chiaroscuro that passes the time,
Our hopeless conjuring as we drift.
qbit 
I looked up New Hebrides. Interesting they got their independence as late as 1980. Do you have a link to the place?
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No, but I’ve seen pictures and they are beautiful. I’d love to go. For some reason I’ve had a thing reading about obscure South Sea islands and independence movements for many years. A weird rabbit-hole of mine, what can I say?
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My slow internet connection wouldn’t load the music – more’s the pity.
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Ah yes, the Hebrides Overture. That is also beautiful. Inspired by the islands off the coast of Scotland.
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And That then be closer to home for you? Not sure where you are based.
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I’m in the US. But enough Anglophile flotsam and jetsam sticks to the inside of my brain that it comes out in these poems, LOL!
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Fair enough. 🙂
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Okay, so I learned more history researching your allusions than I ever did in high school. I have been a self-study of history almost since the day of my graduation from that vaunted institution. There is much to ponder in your poem… and much to unravel. The wording is quality, of course. Now… Advil.
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Hahaha! Apologies for the Advil. I don’t know why this is, but I’m weirdly infatuated with South Sea island Independence Movements. I think (and I kid you not), it was probably due to the constant reference to “New Caledonia” in all those re-runs of McHale’s Navy growing up. Then one day I stumbled across the actual history of New Caledonia and I was off down the rabbit hole.
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See, and I always wanted to know where the names Quentin and McHale came from for the title of the show! I know there has to be something there. And why is Gilligan the only character with only one name. Even the person who birthed Gilligan’s Island didn’t know (or wouldn’t say) whether it was the character’s first or last name. However, I’m certain the island was probably Johnston Atoll. Except we had an air base there until fairly recently.
Your rabbit hole is more worthy than mine.
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Ahaha! Oh man, we can’t get going on Pacific Atolls in general or we are lost for sure. So many rabbit holes, so little time…
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Lewis Carroll meets Daniel DeFoe meets Robert Lewis Stevenson.
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Totally! And, uh, toss in some Ginger please?
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And nutmeg? Haha! Redheads rock!
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Wow, your wordplay just gets better and better
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Thank you so much, esp from someone who’s wordplay is so excellent!
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Instantly pulled back to my school days as I read this poem and the references. Reality enters with ‘it is not your sons…’ Excellent work!
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Thanks! Yes, I wanted that discordant note there and in the last line to punctuate the whimsical language. Glad you noticed.
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Thanks! Yes, I wanted that discordant note there and in the last line to punctuate the whimsical language. Glad you noticed.
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This is ticking all the boxes for me, my friend. I feel this!
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Thank you!
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