The Bee in the Bottle: And Other Poems

By Jan Goddard-Finegold

The Basis of Her Poetry

She has shown her photographic work in solo and group shows and has written several poetry chapbooks that have been combined to make this volume. The themes of these poems include the mysteries of existence, consciousness, memory, illness, and death; feelings of loss and disappointment; and the wonders and beauties of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493102389

Jan Goddard-Finegold

A research and clinical physician from 1974 until 2002 at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, Jan retired from neurodevelopmental pediatrics due to a muscular disease. She has been a serious student of poetry and photography since her early years, having been inspired by the poetry of her cousin, Randall Jarrell (1914–1965). She obtained a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970; she studied writing there with the author Joseph Heller and biology with Lewis G. Tilney. She earned an MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1974. She has been married since 1982 to Milton J. Finegold, MD, and lives in Houston with him and their dachshund, Beatrix.

Book preview

The

Bee

in the

Bottle

and other Poems

Jan Goddard-Finegold

Copyright © 2013 by Jan Goddard-Finegold.

Library of Congress Control Number:         2013916980

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4931-0237-2

                Softcover        978-1-4931-0236-5

                Ebook              978-1-4931-0238-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Front cover image and all photographs inside this book are by the author, unless stated otherwise.

Rev. date: 09/21/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

I Should Be Able to Write

The Bee in the Bottle

The Bright Stars

My Son Has No Shoes

The Anatomy of Falling Things

For a Student

My Vermeer

Of What Use Can Five Minutes Be?

The Edge

The Long Pier

The Skyline

Ultimate Meaning

At the Beach

Neruda

Entitlement

I Dream

I Am Grotesque

In the Field of Loneliness

Acceptance

Bones

A Haiku Trio for the Rain

A Boat Away From Shore

I’m Chewing Rocks

Hard to Find

Chuck’s Birks

Chuck’s Docks

I’m Still Alive

North Carolina Summer

Respect for a Good Enough Man

Somewhere There is a Memory

The Woman Next Door

Theories

Therapy and the Art of Flying

When My Mind Left

Where the World Begins and Ends

Learning to Be a Mockingbird

There Is a Place for Him

The Mystery of Our Consciousness

Where I Reside

The Lost Boys

One Leg Hanging

I Hear My Grandchildren

When Babies Are Born

Grass Grows Brown

The Congo

Days Like This (1)

Days Like This (2)

Listing to Port

Gather All Losses

When I Saw You

Betsy

Across Florida

Fayetteville in Spring

My Feet Are in the Mud

Halloween in 1959

Not Bound for Glory

A Letter to Elizabeth Bishop

Yes, You and I Are Meant to Be Alone Together

Along the Way from Fort Davis

An Admirable Woman

Climbing Trees

Events

Green Striped Pajamas

Hunting in a Duck-Blind

The Emergency Room

The Plunge

What Do I Not Dare to Do?

Respite

We Are Shadows

Masada

Dark Play

I Swing

Unsure

The Turtles Are Singing

We Hope

Singing

When Fathers Are Fathers

Under the Doodad Tree

Sand

Loving You

Biography

For Milton

and

In Memory of

Randall Jarrell

(1914-1965)

I Should Be Able

to Write

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For my long-dead cousin and poet, Randall Jarrell

I should be able to write

a poem—

a collection of truths,

admissions of failings,

lists of recollections,

wishes for my lover,

and gifts of my living.

I should be able to write

a history

for the bereft children

given to me

a mixture of their sadness

and relief from the great grief

left in their memories.

I should be able to write

a thought

or a phrase

of praise for my lost poet cousin,

whose best