The Opposite of Grieving
‘The Opposite of Grieving brings together the talents of three poets who collectively run the publishing outlet Drunk Muse Press. There the similarities in their theme and style end. Hugh McMillan’s poems are mostly lyrical meditations on a father’s relationship and travels with his daughters, while Neil Young’s satires rewrite and reimagine Greek myths with a contemporary twist, and Jessamine O’Connor’s selection explores a gamut of responses to loss and bereavement. Each poet’s work is characterised by an angled approach that causes the reader to re-examine expectations.
Hugh McMillan
Hugh McMillan’s latest collection ‘Haphazardly in the Starless Night’ was published in 2021. In 2021 he was editor of the SPL’s anthology ‘Best Scottish Poems’. He edits for Drunk Muse
Press.
Hole in the Sky
A half empty train and
the north of England flicking
by in deep shades of green
and wild hawthorn.
I am sipping wine
and you are carefully judging
the smoothie you drink.
Food is a map we spread
out and navigate by:
we sometimes get lost there.
The sun is on your face, you
are smiling, but I have never
been more scared.
Can we make this day
a paradigm? One to fall
back on through the clouds.
Neil Young
Neil Young hails from west Belfast and now lives in north-east Scotland. He worked as a labourer, kitchen-porter and stage-hand before becoming a journalist. His latest collections include Shrapnel (Poetry Salzburg, 2019) and After the Riot (Nine Pens Press, 2021). Neil is founder of The Poets’ Republic magazine and Drunk Muse Press.
Sparta Casuals Plot their Comeback Tour
Soon as we’ve drank this Helot’s blood,
scoffed those magic manitária
Leonidas’ nephew fetched
back from his gap year
we’re trashing Thebes high street,
including shops,
whether the Wags
give us permission or not.
Then we’ll do Corinth;
remember to pack
an armpit flannel
and clean loin cloth,
we’ll all be sharing
an overnight cart,
it could get stinky and stuff.
Massalia, Chalcis,
this is payback
for calling Tyrtaeus a wuss
just cos he writes poems.
Athenians, get your
Snowflake-lads tooled up.
Chaps, remember our chants:
‘Two Med wars and one Aegean Cup’,
‘We’re Sparta till we die’.
Give ‘em Hades
right after you’ve waxed your chests.
Jessamine O'Connor
Jessamine O'Connor moved from Dublin to the Sligo Roscommon border in 1999. Her collection ‘Silver Spoon’ is published by Salmon Poetry. She is an editor with Drunk Musep Press, on the panel of The Poet’s Republic, and runs Co:Mon, an annual Countdown festival.
Notes on John
Their Peckham squat declared
nobody here but us chickens -
he was vegan for years there and used to knit
for days on end, then unravel it all
and start again
and on the long walk behind the hearse
his friend I hadn’t seen in 25 years said
when they got a council flat
he wouldn’t get up in time for his key
and refused to pay for one to be cut
so every time he came back first
in the morning from a party
he’d have to kick down the door to get in
until eventually
there was no door left
