In Lieu of Love

by Oisín Breen

Standing here, 
Upon a meadow
Disrupted by white noise,
I am an expression of rage.

And if I must die,
I will be survived 
By the shards of a million velvet dresses.

Yet I cannot revel in this expanse,
So, in lieu of love, I laugh, 
And cry deconstructed tears.

And behind a veil 
Of skilfully woven innocence,
I gnash my teeth on red wine,

For I remain boastful 
Of my hungry, spewing, rushing, 
Agonising tilts amongst the lilac trees,
And of how we complimented 
Each other’s supple shapes.

---

Irish poet, academic, and financial journalist, Oisín Breen’s debut, Flowers, all Sorts in Blossom, Figs, Berries and Fruits Forgotten was released March, 2020. Breen has been published widely, including in About Place, the Blue Nib, Books Ireland, the Seattle Star, La Piccioletta Barca, the Bosphorus Review of Books, In Parentheses, the Madrigal, and Dreich.