Eavesdropping on Jane's Gals

 

—Three Poems about Jane Austen’s Characters 

by Jennifer Fenn, Fresno, CA 

—Bonnet Artistry Courtesy of Public Domain

I’M KITTY! TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT!
 
I do my mending beside Mamá.
My thread and needle I tightly draw.
She’ll not love me like she loves Jane,
raving beauty, yet I’m not plain!
Lydia’s mirth—I can’t achieve it!
But I’m Kitty! Take it or leave it!
 
Papá thinks I’m a silly girl,
no wit to offer to the world.
I’m nothing like his Lizzie dear.
He doesn’t speak it, yet I hear
his disappointment. I perceive it.
But I’m Kitty! Take it or leave it!
 
My only sister left at home
is Mary. How I feel alone!
Amid her music and her books,
at me she will not even look.
Nothing in common. I believe it.
But I’m Kitty! Take it or leave it!
 
But last night’s ball gave me much joy.
I danced just with the Lucas boy.
Yes, I have known him all my life,
but now he wants me for his wife.
Love was offered. I received it.
I’m his Kitty! Take it or leave it!

 

 

 

 

 ANNE DE BOURGH GONE TOUGH
         (A Cinquain Sequence)
 
I know
what you just did,
Mother, Lady de Bourgh.
Gone long but still fuming mad,
you hiss
 
like pots
on Cook’s coal stove.
You went to try to scare
Miss Bennet to refuse Darcy.
Not true?
 
You lie!
You had that look,
green and twisted, when she
was here, speaking to you her mind.
You knew
 
he liked
her and not me.
Guess what? I like her too!
I never wanted to wed him!
Big shock?
 
Get used
to the new me!
Your face is pinched and blue,
your body shaking. Go ahead!
Boil on!

 

 

 

 

 

MARY BENNET AND HER MOTHER
 
I catch in some poetry by Cowper
in a book Lizzie sent me
to calm my nerves
after babysitting yours.
 
You sit dozing in your chair,
your needlework fallen off your lap.
Were you tired of worrying
if you’ll ever have grandchildren
from Jane and Lizzie and Kitty,
or if Lydia and Wickham
can support any?
Did spouting off your regrets
that I’ve had no suitors
wear you out?
 
I gaze out the window
at Father riding on horseback
to Netherfield spend time with Bingley and Jane
before they move to Derbyshire.
Did you know your endless blubbering
of unsolicited advice
is what’s driving them away?
Oh Jane, can I go with you?
 
I’m drawn back into Cowper’s meter.
Could I write like this? Let’s see!
I tiptoe past your snores to my room
and write my first lines. Not bad!
I feel my first smile in a long time
until your “Mary dear!”
breaks my reverie,
sending the rest of my poem
and my smile
back to oblivion.

____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.

—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

____________________

Welcome back to the Kitchen, Jennifer Fenn, and thanks for the poems and their creative premise! Jennifer writes, “Tom Goff's poems [Medusa’s Kitchen last Saturday] about John Keats that you posted are delightful! Then I remembered that I have the following poems about Jane Austen's characters that I would like to share with you.” Thanks again, Jennifer!

Tonight, 7-9pm, Poetry Night Reading Series in Davis presents Susan Flynn and Laura Rosenthal plus open mic (4 minutes or 2 poems) at the John Natsoulas Gallery, 521 1st St., Davis. Please wear masks. Host: Andy Jones. Info: www.facebook.com/events/1166298757180953/?acontext={"source"%3A"29"%2C"ref_notif_type"%3A"plan_user_invited"%2C"action_history"%3A"null"}&notif_id=1627770183491922&notif_t=plan_user_invited&ref=notif/.

___________________

—Medusa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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