Description

The poems and the story in this volume were found among papers left by Jackie Feldman, who worked on them for more than thirty years. Each poem is fashioned from close examination of a life-family relationships (especially between mothers and children), marriage and divorce, health and sickness, relationships to nature and technology. The poems about motherhood are suffused with a sense of continuity from generation to generation as they consider childbirth, a mother's care for her newborn, and fashioning a growing child's environment. Poems about children reverse the point of view, capturing the perspectives of children at play and at school. They reflect on the universal passage from childhood dependence to adult autonomy. The author's most emotionally fraught poetry examines the deep wounds and complex emotions triggered by divorce and the unfulfilled possibilities of a marriage left behind. Other poems address aging, closure and finality, exploring the ceaseless movement of time, the debilities that accompany age, and the unpredictability of death. The volume also includes the poet's distinctive takes on modern drama, the moments captured in a painting, nature's beauty, everyday encounters, the challenges posed by technology, and the act of writing itself. Finishing this collection is a humorous story of a woman "lost" in Europe, and the series of mishaps and misunderstandings that lead to a surprising conclusion.