National Poem In Your Pocket Day - Poems by and about Jane

Tomorrow, April 30th, is National Poem In Your Pocket Day.  To celebrate, you print out a poem and carry it around with you and share it throughout the day.  In preparation for that day, I have some poems written by Jane and about Jane.

A letter to Frank written fully in verse.

Jane wrote a letter to her brother Frank (picture above) in the form of a poem. It starts:

My dearest Frank, I wish you joy

Of Mary's Safety with a boy,

Whose birth has given little pain,

Compared with that of Mary Jane.

You can read the full poem here.

You can find a number of examples of poetry written by Jane included in her letters. One such poem was included in a letter to Miss Bigg and it reads:

Cambrick! With grateful blessings would I pay

The pleasure given me in sweet employ.

Long may'st thou serve my friend without decay,

And have no tears to wipe but tears of joy.

You can read more of these poems here.

As we know Jane wasn't her only sibling to write a creative line or two.  Her brother James wrote the following poem after the publication of Sense and Sensibility.

On such Subjects, no Wonder that she should write well

In whom so united those Qualities dwell;

Where "dear Sensibility", Sterne's darling Maid,

With Sense so attemper'd is finely portray'd

Fair Elinor's self in that Mind is exprest,

And the feelings of Marianne live in that Breast.

Oh then, gentle Lady! continue to write,

And the Sense of your Readers t' amuse and delight.

Others have also written poems about Jane and her work, a few years ago we discussed Rudyard Kiplin's the Janeites and his poem about Jane's Marriage.  There are more like the poem titled Mr. Bingley's Friend by Patricia Shepherd:

I have never understood

Quite how Mr. Darcy could

Tolerate the sisters Bingley --

As a pair, or even singly.

Much for friendship he endured;

For he often was immured

All those evenings with the boring

Elder sister's husband snoring.

You can find more poems about Jane here.