Size / / /

I am taking back the moon

for the lunatics,

the lovers,

and the poets.

Real estate agents

may notice a gap in the night sky

and put away their signs.

The scientists can measure

the diameter of this darker

darkness,

triangulate its distance from Earth,

and conclude what's missing

must be the moon.

But I have it right here

under my arm,

wrapped in a notebook

leaking light,

and am coming toward you

with a poem it helped me write.

I pull it out and read by the moon's light:

         The Swimmer

     He dives into the moon

     from the pier on the lake,

     hits his target dead center;

     and, coming up for air,

     finds none.




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.
Current Issue
17 Mar 2025

Strange Horizons will have three open fiction submissions throughout 2025.
In this whole ocean, not a single reply.
We are men making machines, making men.
The customer shakes me until his disc drops into the bin below. Please take your receipt, sir. He kicks me in the side and says, “Thanks for nothing, you piece of shit vending machine!”
Wednesday: Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan 
Friday: Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen 
Issue 10 Mar 2025
By: Holli Mintzer
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
Issue 3 Mar 2025
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Issue 17 Feb 2025
Issue 10 Feb 2025
By: Alexandra Munck
Podcast read by: Claire McNerney
Issue 27 Jan 2025
By: River
Issue 20 Jan 2025
Strange Horizons
By: Michelle Kulwicki
Podcast read by: Emmie Christie
Issue 13 Jan 2025
Issue 6 Jan 2025
By: Samantha Murray
Podcast read by: Jenna Hanchey
Issue 23 Dec 2024
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