Poetry by Jeff Weddle

             Tony Webster CC




​Outside, The Sun Ablaze
 
Not coming back, but watching. 
Chair, mirror, floor. 
Suffocating, at best.
 
Footsteps in another room. 
 
Familiar music you can’t quite place 
along with decay, roses.
 
Entering the room. Leaving.
Watching them take you off. 
 
Clocks make no sense 
if yesterday 
is right around the corner.

All conversations at once, 
everything finally understood,
and now you know the music. 
 
Consider this: Clarity might be overrated, 
but it is often worth the struggle.
 
Every moment is every moment, 
as any child understands. 
 
No goodbyes on this dusty afternoon, 
but memories of children, 
a botched exit, 
a lost farewell.





​
Trust Me. Just See What Happens
 
Tell the beautiful girl you love her, 
if you do, 
but don’t say it otherwise. 
 
Let go and see what happens. 
 
Get a canvass, some paints 
and a dozen good brushes 
of various sizes. 
Open your heart to potential. 

Let go and see what happens. 
 
Point your car west 
and drive three hundred miles 
with no stops and no idea 
of a destination.

Let go and see what happens. 
 
Kiss the beautiful girl 
each morning and night 
and at various times in between. 
 
Let go and see what happens. 
 
Age with grace. 
Accept the changing seasons. 
 
Let go and see what happens. 
 
Embrace death when it comes 
as only the true of heart can do.

Say your goodbyes with laughter.

Let go and see what happens.

Jeff Weddle won the Welty Prize for his first book, Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press (University Press of Mississippi, 2007). He has also received honors for his poetry and fiction. His most recent book is a poetry collection, There’s More To It Than That (Poetic Justice Books, 2021). Jeff teaches in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama.

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