5 Jan 2009

Vespers (85)

Warm cup brought good feeling,
said the scientist I listened to.
on public radio.
Not the cool glass, but the warm cup.

This experiment was replicated many times.
A respondent would be asked to hold a cup.
If the cup was warm, he/she expressed liking for the stranger,
who was nothing more than an idea.

Every time a different person who had held a warm cup
was asked about a stranger, he/she felt good about the person
whom the scientist suggested.

The conversation between scientists kept going.
They mentioned priming.
They mentioned infant safety.
They played the sound of innocence.
They mentioned a baby's feeling safe when warm.
I thought about myself.
But I could never hear myself crying like that.

I almost always hold a cup.
I like the concept of a stranger.
The person who is no more than a concept.
I don't mind telling you.

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