{"id":348,"date":"2013-02-02T19:07:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-02T19:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/?p=348"},"modified":"2015-03-27T00:52:02","modified_gmt":"2015-03-27T00:52:02","slug":"coral-reveries-3-poem-audio-ian-irvine-hobson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/coral-reveries-3-poem-audio-ian-irvine-hobson\/","title":{"rendered":"Coral Reveries (3).Poem. Audio. Ian Irvine (Hobson)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tree<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: \u2018Darwin\u2019s Tree of Life\u2019 [from public domain image, drawn by Darwin]<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ThreePoems:CoralReveries. <\/a><\/h1>\n

Ian Irvine Hobson. Audio Version.<\/a><\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

Poems: (3.)<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

(i.) Their Massive God<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(ii.)The Noble Love of Freedom<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(iii.) To Inhabit the Fields of Time<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Poems by Ian Irvine (Hobson), copyright all rights reserved. <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please Note: many of these poems meditate upon or, in some cases rework\/recombine, random phrases appearing in the 2nd<\/sup> edition of Charles Darwin\u2019s The Voyage of the Beagle.<\/i> The first edition of the work appeared in 1839. I hope I have done some justice to the natural lyricism evident in Darwin\u2019s relaxed prose style.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Their Massive God<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether I killed their God,<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

one and massive.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

book-tombed, with chiselled words<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

on granite\u2014his puny reign,<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

mere millennia\u2014<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

was not the issue.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mine was the gambler\u2019s fear, for<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

the mist-wrapped hull of the new<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

drifts only slowly into view<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

contrasts with the rotting hulk of God<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(as slowly sinking).<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

How will they endure<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

this unbearable in-between?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Noble Love of Freedom<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the forest, <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

with huge butterflies<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

that float<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

among horses and men<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

such brilliant colours!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

– they flit<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

from shade<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

to sunshine<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I find it dreamy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

to think of her<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

and ignore the granite hills<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

steep and bare<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They tell a story<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

steep and bare<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

of runaway slaves<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

and the moon was dim<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(a few fireflies)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

and we came upon a desert<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

followed by a wasteland<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

of marshes and lagoons<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

heard the sea\u2019s sullen roar<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

off in the distance.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We tethered the horses<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

but they refused to settle.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We tethered the horses <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

on a sandy plain<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

next morning, more salt lagoons<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

and a few stunted trees.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The nights grew hot, and<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

a dim moon on white sand.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Became aware<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(the exact moment is not recorded)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

of a problem with the horses.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We bathed in lakes and lagoons<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

traversed pastures ruined by ants\u2019 nests<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

passed forests with lofty trees.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Every morning more horses<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

bitten and infected<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

until one evening<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I saw it in the gloom<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

suctioned to a horse\u2019s back<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

a large vampire bat.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I found it dream-like<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

blatant in the gloom<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(How could I ignore the granite hills?)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But then I saw it<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

suctioned to a horse\u2019s back<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

a large vampire bat. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To Inhabit the Fields of Time<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The more I observe<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018mother nature\u2019, the less<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

God I see,<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

the more in need of a God<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(or gods)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I become. Even as I <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

refuse to believe their <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

broadcast baloney.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The idea gnaws. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I came upon a parasite <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

in some distant jungle\u2014 <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

it gives me wild ideas, and though<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

the doctors work their alchemy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I still feel \u2018inhabited\u2019. Besides<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

my son in a coffin.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So many blind millennia\u2014<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

and still they refuse to see.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

But is my vision true\u2014<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

unencumbered by faith<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

(my daughter, my daughter)?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The clear and terrible beauty<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

of aeons of methodical suffering.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

He never did intervene. If<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

he exists, he\u2019s a patient sadist<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

or useless as the carnivores<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

of all ages, thrive and<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

evolve.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/a><\/p>\n

Ian Irvine is an Australian-based poet\/lyricist, fiction writer and non-fiction writer. His work has featured in many Australian and international publications, including <\/span>Fire<\/i><\/span> (UK) \u2018Anthology of 20<\/span>th<\/span><\/sup> Century and Contemporary Poets,\u2019 (2008) which contained the work of poets from over 60 nations.<\/span>His work has also appeared in a number of Australian national poetry anthologies, and he is the author of <\/span>three books<\/span> and co-editor of many more (including <\/span>Scintillae 2012,<\/i><\/span> an anthology of work by over 50 Victorian and international writers and poets). He currently teaches writing and literature at Bendigo TAFE and Victoria University (Melbourne) and lives with fellow writer Sue King-Smith and their children on a 5 acre block near Bendigo, Australia.<\/span><\/strong>
\n 
\nLinks related to his work are as follows:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n 
\nhttp:\/\/authorsden.com\/ianirvine
\n <\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/www.scribd.com\/IanHobson
\n <\/a>
\n 
\n <\/div>\n

robin@artvilla.com<\/a>
\nwww.facebook.com\/PoetryLifeTimes<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/pre>\n
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Image: \u2018Darwin\u2019s Tree of Life\u2019 [from public domain image, drawn by Darwin]   ThreePoems:CoralReveries. Ian Irvine Hobson. Audio Version. Poems: (3.)   (i.) Their Massive God (ii.)The Noble Love of Freedom (iii.) To Inhabit the Fields of Time   Poems by Ian Irvine (Hobson), copyright all rights reserved.   Please Note: many of these poems … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,73,43],"tags":[18,136,3,72],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3747,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/3747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artvilla.com\/plt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}