Abby the Stabby - 10

Exhausted and frightened, and all out of poise,

Abigail finally escapes from the noise

Through a small hallway and out a small door,

Leading to someplace she's not seen before:

A beautiful garden of pretty white roses,

"How lovely it seems here," Abby supposes,

"With flowers and fountains, sweet little birds,

With none of the nonsense (and no nonsense words).

I could stay here forever'n a day --

Perhaps I'll come back here, and maybe I'll stay,

But what of those gardeners, painting the flowers?

Planting red roses would take fewer hours,

And why would they choose to paint red over white,

When all coloured flowers are coloured just right?

"Why would you ruin the flowers like this?

Don't you think someone will see what's amiss?"

White and red petals fly out in soft shards

(The gardeners, meanwhile, are all playing cards:

A Two and a Seven, while Five keeps a watch, 

Hoping the Queen won't acknowledge the botch)

Said the one with the 2, "Unfortunately,

"We've screwed up quite badly, and Queen mustn't see;

"We had misplanted the whites for the reds,

And if she finds out, we'll all lose our heads --

And so, out of fear, this is what we must do;

We don't have much time -- three minutes (plus two)!

"Fewer, said Five in a fervent refrain,

"The Queen shall be here, and her whole royal train, 

Any moment, and we don't know what else to say;

I hope she won't notice, and just play croquet, 

But probably not -- she's too mean and too large

And never forgets to tell us who's in charge."

"My goodness," says Abby, "How selfish and crass!

What kind of person spreads terror en masse,

Demanding their way, lest she act just like Mother;

Get everyone screaming and hurting each other,

Then watch the scene closely, with acuity,

Then punish dissent with abject cruelty;

A perfect illusion that must be sustained

No matter how badly the truth is bloodstained

Or who she holds liable for things that go wrong 

(Though never the boyfriend, who sings a good song);

Usually her father, long gone from the scene,

Whose absence forced Duchess to become the Queen,

And left without any of Daddy's safeguards,

The whole thing fell down like a weak house of cards;

Smacked and knocked round like a wild croquet ball,

Abby's done playing now, once and for all.

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- © Jackson Cambridge, 2016.