Maid Poem #7: HR

by Jan-Henry Gray

At the Maid Museum we honor the many who have cooked meals in other people’s
kitchens, washed floors, labored on holidays, nursed the frail, and tended the children.
The Maid Museum houses art commemorating Maid Culture by the best artists of our
time. On exhibit are wall-sized paintings, large-scale photography, sculpture and
installation. Artifacts, letters, and other ephemera are preserved and on display in the
temperature-controlled galleries. Our docents are robust, learned, but unrobotic. They
have mastered the pronunciations of all of the Maids’ names. Doing so is required
research and research is synonymous with interest which we value here. The Museum is
free. We are open 24 hours to accommodate the many faiths and habits in our
community. The coffee is good and strong and you will agree. Tea is served on every
floor. Lunch too is good. There are complimentary house-made pickles and free refills.
All of our employees have health insurance so that getting sick is not also shameful.
Uniforms are provided. There is ride-share, snow days, sick days, paid vacation, direct
deposit, and a generous R&D budget. On payday at The Maid, every employee receives a
brown envelope with a handwritten letter by one of the poets-in-residence thanking them
for their service. Each note describes “One Thing Done Well” during that pay cycle. The
envelope may also include an image of you documenting that moment; images culled
from the surveillance footage. The Maid Museum is currently hiring. All applicants are
welcome. We are an EOE.

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