Sister Poems

Anyone who has a sister could write a poem about her. Serious or funny, happy or sad, we all have stories to tell about our sister. Now some may have stories that their sisters wouldn’t want them to tell, but that’s part of life — I’m sure they can tell stories about us as well!

There are two sisters in particular who could write poems about each other . . . and did! The Taylor sisters, Ann and Jane, were a part of a remarkable family of writers and poets. Their father and brother were highly regarded engravers, and their mother, Ann Martin Taylor, wrote numerous volumes regarding religious and moral advice. The two sisters began writing early, and many of their poems were published together but without distinction or credit for individual writings. Jane has often received much of the acclaim for the early works due largely to her early death. One of their brothers ascribed many of the poems to Jane after her death, to which Ann responded by saying, she really couldn’t afford to have the works credited to her sister, and that her sister certainly didn’t need them. Ann tells us about a conflict between the two as settled by her parents in About the Little Girl that Beat Her Sister.

About the Little Girl that Beat Her Sister
by Ann Taylor

Both Ann and her sister, Jane, were actually rather fond of each other, and the passing of Jane was a heart-wrenching experience for Ann. Although the above poem certainly takes on a humorous sense, it sounds much like several other poems about sisters. What is interesting about some of the poems that are written on the topic are the acknowledgements of how similar sisters are to their siblings. Although we may argue with or scheme against our sisters, when we finally analyze what things bother us the most about them, we can usually find those same attributes in ourselves. Here is a little anonymous poem that may serve as an example of this.

Sisters
by Anonymous

As noted in both of these works, having a sister can be both a joyful experience or a terrible one, all depending on how well you get along with her. Perhaps if your sister is older, and if you yourself are a girl, she will help you find your way around some of the more troublesome aspects of growing up. Actually, this could also be said if you are a boy. An older sister might be just the edge you need if you were trying to solve the mystery of relationships and interactions with girls. Being the older sibling has some joys as well. Having a younger sister around can be challenging at times, but it will often come to your attention that your younger sister actually worships you and admires you for the example you set.

Big Sis I Love You
by Ranja Kujala

Sisters — where would we be without them? Let’s be thankful for the lessons they teacher us, either through intention or through example.