Uncollected later poems (1984–2006)
Note: Weatherly published relatively little from the mid-1970s on, his occasional appearances in little magazines mainly making up the poems eventually printed in short history of the saxophone (2006). The poems that appear here include three uncollected magazine publications, seven short, previously unpublished poems, and different versions of poems from short history, presented in manuscript form to give some insight into Weatherly’s exhaustive and rigorous (self-)editorial practices. All poems were kindly provided from correspondence with Lauri Scheyer (Ramey) concerning the groundbreaking anthology that Ramey edited with Aldon Nielsen, Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone, in which selections of Weatherly’s work appeared. — David Grundy
CONTENTS
folkway
the big sky
[iambe]
[seeds]
“croatan”
last ranger
KADDISH
[vocal texts evoke]
fishes [three versions, 1991–1999]
colt
[simple honest speech]
[after vegas]
tour
[cracked]
[suppose she]
thomas jeffer-
sonian sexual
assault beget
u
s a.
folks germane
german manger
hitler arming
u
s a.
barred border
a moral jonah
morale formed
u
s a.
112998. for Richard B. Bernstein,
historian.
ideas fence range
ideal obeys sense
never raven nerve
today pedal south
bacon fargo roads.
iambe
ideal
being
iambe
ideas
deeds
071299.
seeds
ameba
iambe
seeks
heshe
iambe
021799. A midrash of Bereshit 1:27, J.P.S. for Kira Ekatherina Rain. The name of god is based on “EHYEH ASHER EHYEH.”
entelechy
and bicycle
too bucolic
we cultivate
in colony
the accolade.
sore legs pedal
rump feels frost
heave the pavement
beneath the wheels.
on boston post
no new haven
cold roads open
and asphalt mazes.
Closed
Energy
System
praise
praise
praise
opened
worlds
beings
praise
praise
praise.
vocal texts evoke
abode adobe
edens popes blest
turnt holy trope
local cross aglow.
082688.
[fishes — three versions, 1991–1999][1]
ignorance ain’t safe
knowledge can’t save you.
leave the safety off.
salvation live rounds
saviors don’t fire blanks.
for Joseph Skoler
Note: A different poem to that with the same name dedicated to Rönnog Seaberg (in Uncollected Later Poems, 2009–2014). The first half of a poem printed in short history; images included here for Weatherly’s handwritten annotations. — David Grundy
after vegas
wheat.
111197.
ride with me and share
the hills and the flats
the free wheel hums.
cracked
crick
cricket-cricket.
suppose she
despises my sashay
convince virginia
prose
poem free
of metered language
of metered language boast
heart beat rhythm best
composes normal curve
the rhythm tempo rhyme
swerve ginny off course
hear professors whine
for Virginia Gilbert
weatherly
021406
Sources: “folkway” is an alternative, unpublished version of the poem “u s a” from short history of the saxophone; “fishes” and “[simple honest speech]” are earlier drafts of poems published in short history; “the big sky” appeared in Minetta Review, fall 1984; “last ranger” appeared in Gandhabba no. 4 (September 1986); “KADDISH” appeared in Poetry New York, no. 5 (Winter 1992/Spring 1993); “[vocal texts evoke]” and “‘croatan’” were published in Every Goodbye Ain’t Gone; “[iambe],” “[seeds],” “colt,” “[after vegas],” “tour,” “[cracked],” and “[suppose she]” are previously unpublished.
1. The last of these three versions appears in short history of the saxophone.
Edited by David Grundy