The Love Detector That Lied

The Love Detector That Lied

Someone invented a machine for love,
With wires, a button and a screen,
It promised it could read your heart,
And tell you what your feelings mean.

You placed your hand upon the glass,
It hummed and flashed a shade of red,
Then suddenly it started shouting,
“Congratulations, you’re in love!”

It tested people in the street,
It tested strangers passing by,
It even tested someone’s cat,
The machine declared the cat would cry.

It tested couples holding hands,
And told them whether love was true,
Then tested one upon another,
And changed its answer to Not you.

The inventor thought he’d made a gem,
Until the machine began to sing,
It rolled itself beneath the table,
And refused to test another thing.

Then someone asked it why it lied,
The machine just blinked its light,
And printed out a little note,
Love isn’t something I can write.

So all the clever wires failed,
The buttons couldn’t make love start,
For no machine, however strange,
Can truly understand a heart.