Although the knife was blunt;
(What else could it be after years of dinners?)
It had what the News called lethal force.

In distraction, the dinner burnt:
(Lucky nobody was hungry now.)
The law’s people came and began the needful course.

The knife was slipped into a bag,
(“Blunt as butter, boss.”)
And hurried away by a cautious, legal hand.

The chaos of it all made her cry.
“She’ll get off, they always do.”
And when they lead her away, they wondered why
She hadn’t used the sharper knives.