As some of you know, I’m a big fan of novels by Stacey Lee. She writes great stories set in various points throughout American history. Her latest is called The Downstairs Girl, set in the “Gilded Age” of the late nineteenth century. In this story a young girl takes on the role of an anonymous advice columnist, named Miss Sweetie, in an Atlanta newspaper. She causes quite a sensation and this poem is an imagined response from an enthusiastic fan.  There’s much more to the story and you can find it here or anywhere you buy books. Enjoy:

Dear Miss Sweetie,

There’s a girl who’s got the town aflutter
She spreads her opinions around like butter
The things she says are so peculiar
But I sure would like to get more familiar
And find out just what goes on
Under Miss Sweetie’s hat.

Saucebox is her common label
But I like sauce upon my table
And I’d go without food for at least a week
If I could only take a peek
Under Miss Sweetie’s hat.

Some say don’t back an anonymous horse
For her bloodlines might be mixed of course
But I say bloodlines don’t make a winner
But rather the goodness of the heart that’s in her
And I know a heart that’s good resides
Under Miss Sweetie’s hat

My friends all say my mind is rotted
Some of them say I’m besotted.
And I hope I have not gone too far
But I know those lips I’d like to kiss are
Under Miss Sweetie’s hat.

Yours Truly,
Giddy Goober

Hope you enjoyed that, and quite frankly, I think we need to bring back the word “besotted,” and fancy hats for women, but that’s just my opinion.