the snail said sorry for not inviting you in
that it was better to talk outside
so you stacked your shoe atop the other shoe
on the stoop for ants, to go inside

gosh, such nice weather, no cloud in the sky
robins sang lustily in their trees
but you were annoyed, asked the snail why
you couldn’t go in out of the breeze

the snail winced, said they woke up real early
that their guest room was rather a mess
mould on the ceilings was making them surly
& so too the slime on their flower dress

shrugging, you decided to just do your job
handed the snail an eviction slip
who can reason with an inveterate slob
who pretends to have a tricky hip

gosh, such nice weather, no cloud in the sky
robins sang lustily under the sun
you sat on the shell, loosened your bow tie
dreamt of that bonus for a job well done