The World’s Smallest Drinking Society

by Paul Hughes

Burning my last bridge,
Blowing away the ash,
And severing the last hand 
Offered to me, I set out 
On a Monday morning
Pilgrimage to my church, 
My sanctuary, my sacred
Monastery of melancholy

A surge of orgasmic bliss,
As the clock ticks over, for 
Only degenerates drink
In public before midday,
As Aristotle once forewarned
 
We’ve got John Smiths on offer-
No, thanks, I’m bitter enough
The church warden hands
Over the sacraments
Double vodka red bull,
Two shots and a pint 
The clink of the glass against
The counter reverberates 
Like Faust’s Easter bells

Unveiled and unconsummated, 
I stroke the head of my bride
And hold her to my lips,
We scuttle off to a dark corner, 
To a table with my name 
Carved into its coffin wood,
A rat in a cage, 
Tied to a barstool

The Jukebox wails amidst
The rolling tumbleweed,
And if you’re so clever 
Why are on your own tonight?
Who put this shit on 

Four pints later, I muster an 
Explanation and take the fifth,
My learn’d barman:
I work nights, Monday mornings
Are pretty much my Friday nights, 
And all my pals are at work-
The flushed nose grows longer

I rearrange some pork scratchings 
Into an unfinished crown, 
Pig snacks for the pot-bellied swine

A few other social lepers, 
Carnival castaways, 
Are scattered around the room,
A stick insect man of 
Purpling complexion mixed
With a tombstone grey hue 
Steps in to offer his
Unsolicited autobiography

He has just been discharged 
From hospital, drinking every 
Day for fifty-three years means
His insides are a bombsite, 
He discharges black waste 
At random intervals,
But he’s too far gone to 
Bother stopping now: 
The Ghost of Christmas Future

We compare notes about
Who we hate, 
And why we hate them,
Kindred spirits:
A two-man orchestra 
Perform a symphony of loathing

School bells ring outside,  
As I spew my sorrow into a drain,
My mind, body and soul
Are contaminated, and yet 
I wouldn’t have it
Any other way 

Paul Hughes is a breakthrough English poet. He writes about alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness and religious transformation. He shares his writing at http://instagram.com/prosebypaul