Results
Norwegian scientists have released a study concluding that a worm on a fishhook feels no
pain and neither does a lobster in boiling water.
Harper’s, April 2005
They have halved the quark
and halted time.
They have created wind
artificially out of
matchsticks and lace,
their white coats
billowing in it,
glasses askew.
They have determined the rate
at which stones may be digested
when swallowed by wolves;
they have extended
the lives
of goldfish.
They have replaced the water in your toilets,
your right
contact lens.
They have coordinated
our efforts overseas;
dinner is on the table.
There is no longer
any need for seltzer—
the tomato has been removed.
They have improved upon
our best efforts
at bookkeeping.
They ask that we ignore
the tapping of claws on metal.
Graham Hillard holds an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Puerto del Sol, New York Quarterly, Tar River Poetry, Boxcar Poetry Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.