Her lover was a Navy man
Who, granted leave for Christmas,
Took liberties in Yucatán
Before he crossed the Isthmus,
And sailing up the western coast,
While rum-besot and merry,
Let slip an injudicious boast –
She learned in January.
Her sailor cousin, as it hap-
Pened, based in California
Confided, “If ya catch the clap,
Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”
Inflamed, she served her lover wine
In heirloom Irish crystal,
Then said, “You’re not my Valentine,”
And shot him with a pistol.
They marched her off to jail, but she
Did not bewail her doom, as
Her sweet revenge was cause for glee
And beggared Montezuma’s.