Happy Birthday, Jane Austen

A poem wishing Jane Austen a Happy Birthday!

The Parlor's Cartographer

No sword drawn, no great siege upon the wall,

But in the drawing-room, she saw it all.

The minor siege of status, slight, and stare,

The subtle, perfect cruelty found there.

She was the chronicler of Highbury's lanes,

The silent registrar of social pains.

She measured passion with a steady hand,

The most accurate chronicler in all the land.

In Pemberley, the pride was overthrown,

In Mansfield Park, discretion stood alone.

She gave the heroines bright, discerning eyes,

Who learned that truth beneath the flattery lies.

From Kellynch Hall to Barton Cottage small,

She drew the map of consequence for all.

Her talent was to make the window pane

The whole wide world, observed through sun and rain.

For all who seek a clarity of soul,

Her wit remains the sharpest to make us whole.

Happy birthday to the spirit still unseen,

The quiet, clever, Literary Queen.