Our subjects were nice. We kept
our distance. We brewed detachment
in bottles. “We kept our distance”
is an anecdote. Her name
is Anecdote. She was born in the study.
Cages, bottles. Books all around.
She was our favorite / forbid us
to see her. She was the muse
for the bottles marked “Distance”
from which we drank. Could not
get by without. We buried the results;
they were dead. It was painless
for us. Thanks
to detachment. Our hypothesis held up
a snapshot. Braces, barrettes.
Copyright © 2015 by Melissa Ginsburg. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on July 2, 2015, by the Academy of American Poets.