bluestocking

imagine
her
a first lady of letters
a difficult, lonely woman
who bested her "betters"
lovely, sharp and clever
living with regrets and regretters


imagine
me
precocious child
future bluestocking
smoking and drinking and wild
wishing to be:
not queen of the playground
(always too riled)
not Arthur's round table
(never so mild)
but the Algonquin's
beguiling and beguiled