Size / / /

When he opened the door to his wrist,

it was less like something leaving him,

streaming out into the world,

than as if darkness,

growing thicker every moment,

were filling him.

The blackness rose to the top of his eyes,

entering his head like fuel preparing him

for a long, long trip.

He is now so far away from the hand

holding his exit

it’s as if a stranger had done the final work,

usurped his life at a moment’s notice.

He wants to ask,

“Why did you do this?”

“Please, put it all back.”

But the arm grows longer and longer

a road moving away from him

any glimmer of hope carried off

on the razor edge of a blade.


Duane Ackerson's most recent collection is The Bird at the End of the Universe. He has published several hundred poems, prose poems, and short stories in places that recently include Strange Horizons, Star*Line, Alba, Amaze, and Dreams and Nightmares. He lives in Salem, Oregon. Duane can be reached by email at: Ackerson@navicom.com. Please look for Duane's other work in our archives.



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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