Becoming a posthumous cult poet - on Weldon Kees

He disappeared in 1955 leaving his car by the Golden Gate bridge never to be seen again. His poetry acheived acclaim only amongst other poets after his disappearence (probably death). Sort of crap deaql I'd wind up with.

I decided to investigate this poet after discovering this excellent poem in Neil Astley's 'Being Alive' anthology.

Villanelle
The crack is moving down the wall.
Defective plaster isn't all the cause.
We must remain until the roof falls in.

It's mildly cheering to recall
That every building has its little flaws.
The crack is moving down the wall.

Here in the kitchen, drinking gin,
We can accept the damndest laws.
We must remain until the roof falls in.

And though there's no one here at all,
One searches every room because
The crack is moving down the wall.

Repairs? But how can one begin?
The lease has warnings buried in each clause.
We must remain until the roof falls in.

These nights one hears a creaking in the hall,
The sort of thing that gives one pause.
The crack is moving down the wall.
We must remain until the roof falls in.