Chamberlain’s Maids

Giggly girls who appease crocs and gators

With avian appetizers

And mammalian mains

At roadside zoos on warm sunny days

While dressed in perfectly correct party frocks

And hand-clutched pearls

Just for the thrill of thunderous applause

In jangly gin joints

Or cheer chorus camps

Always seem to forget

That none of that matters

When the bright blistering ball

Slithers toward sunset in swampy lands

And it’s time for dessert.