A young woman newly ‘in service’ tries to make sense of the enigmatic flap her fellow servants are rushing to attend to

The Maid’s Tale

I hadn’t been in service that long. Such a morning!
I dodge out a minute, hoping no one will notice,
needing to get away from all that racket. Oh my!
You never seen so many roses in bloom at once,
thickets of them, white, crimson, stripey, alive with bees.
So I pull just one, the smell’s heavenly, and nip back
in case I’m punished. I asks the lass in the pantry –
well, she stares at me and says It’s the wedding, stupid!