There on the courthouse steps
She was finally brave enough
To profess her long-time love
For the husband of the preacher’s wife

Unrequited by the pastor
But a brave proclamation
A response to an accusation really
A heavily discerned shot in the dark

“Have you fallen in love with my husband?”
And with that, a reckless hand left a foolish mouth
And words as pointless as a collection of dolls leaped
“Yes. Yes I have. I do love him.”

And the world was made pregnant with two problem
The first settled easily enough
“I love my wife and am loyal to her.”
Could there be a more gentle rejection?

But that second problem, how could the world be ready?
For with that one swift confirmation
That the perceived villain was in fact valid
The universe had proven without a shadow of a doubt

That every potential villain that had ever breathed
That every inkling that had ever blinked
Was as valid as this wanna-be adulteress
Was as valid as the word of a friend of a friend of a friend

Oh, she puffed with proof
Oh, she puffed with pride
And long will live the sleuth
And long will live the suspicious gnat