Poetry for the people

About 60 people sat silently on Saturday, April 12, in Forest Hall studios as they listened intently to Milford’s only Poet Laureate, Chuck O’Neil read selected poems from his five books of poetry.

O’Neil’s poetry speaks to the people. It’s about our shared humanity, and it’s about Milford, its ethos– past and present. It’s about things we all experience and sharing our commonalities.

O’Neil talks about the mundane and makes it lyrical.

He talks about new roofs and gutters and makes it literary.

As a Milford resident of more than 40 years, he shares his memories to enable our collective memory.

The cadence of free verse

O’Neil’s poetry is not the traditional rhyming poetry, as some might suspect. It is free verse and follows the cadence of natural speech. When O’Neil reads it, he does so in an intimate, quiet, voice, powerfully conveying the emotions of the words and totally connecting with his audience.

Sometimes he writes with modified spelling, spacing and punctuation to convey very conversational, informal speech, as in a conversation with a roofer giving him an estimate for a new roof:

“Gimme a shout on Mondee

Tuesdee’s ok too

So we get ya done before snow flies

Yup Lord Willing

Before snow flies I say shutting the trunk

And leaving well enough alone

Hold off asking

If he knows any good gutter guys

Here are some other excerpts from his reading which illustrate his style and humor. Note that these below are not in the printed page presentation format from his books:

“Now is not the best time to die cuz there’s a leak under the sink”

“How is it that now those who are gone , who it seems were just here,

Are in town yet, shedding light still. Long slanted it across the clapboard,

Angling the alley, the walkway, the bench, the bollard, the verge,

the planter, street lamp, sign,

Long light bridging the buildings, sweeping the trees”.

Upper case and lower case

In talking about the local parks, he characterizes Catherine street park, Ann Street park, and Remembrance Place Park, a former run-down cemetery, now called “God’s Acre.”

In describing a Little League game, he suggests a support group for parents and a warning about what to do when the F word slips out.

When talking about names, O’Neil gives us a history lesson about how Judge John Biddis, the founder of Milford in 1796 named the streets for his six children: Ann, Catherine, George, John, Sarah and Elizabeth.

He talks about, “Souls beyond names, local to this day.” And his note to a young poet says, “Once in a while, take a ride, just to see where you are.”

Chuck O’Neil knows where he is...right here with all of us in Milford.