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Issue 1

Superheroes are very shy people

who want fame and sometimes fortune

and always to be unknown.

Deciding on a mirror as the perfect camouflage,

he drinks the liquid coating destined for one.

He begins to crack slowly;

gradually, he becomes millions, billions

of miniscule glass boxes,

ice cube monads

so tiny not even an atom, much less Adam,

could find itself inside.

His story breaks off here;

TO BE CONTINUED.

Issue 2

Mirror man,

after becoming a superhero,

found his troubles had just begun.

Instead of being viewed as a savior, he is hated.

Like a glass fireplace screen, nothing can destroy him

except heat on the one side, cold on the other.

A devil and an angel—neither wanting to be fully known—

conspire to bring him to an end,

cracking him into squares of safety glass.

Now, he can no longer pull himself together.

But, if readers still believe

and will let him become Jigsaw Puzzle Man,

you may save him, yet.

Time to do your part.

TO BE CONTINUED?

Issue 3

The child, truly believing,

takes out the paste jar,

glues Mirror Man to a bowling ball.

Her mother places it in the garden

where it revels and reflects on sunshine and rain

and the general puzzle of ordinary things.


Duane Ackerson's most recent collection of poems and prose poems is The Bird at the End of the Universe. His science fiction has appeared in The Year's Best SF 1974, 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories, and Burning With A Vision, among other places.

You can view more of Cathy and Duane's work in our archives, or contact them at Ackerson@navicom.com.



Cathy Ackerson’s poetry has appeared in venues including Caprice, The Dragonfly, Out of Sight, and the anthologies But Is It Poetry? and Poets West. Her artwork has appeared in several publications from Dragonfly Press including Rocket Candy.
Duane Ackerson's poetry has appeared in Rolling Stone, Yankee, Prairie Schooner, The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, Cloudbank, alba, Starline, Dreams & Nightmares, and several hundred other places. He has won two Rhysling awards and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Salem, Oregon. You can find more of his work in our archives.
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