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And sometimes it is you, the door.
Standing ajar,
a slice of light spilling around your edges.
Seeping beneath your sill.
The force of it scours you from the inside,
great heaving gasps that rattle your hinges.
Sing against your ribs.
A way out,
yes,
but a way in too.

 

 

[Editor’s Note: Publication of this poem was made possible by a gift from Moira Moran during our annual Kickstarter.]



J. M. Bédard (she/her) spends long runs getting lost in other worlds and writes to find her way out. Human, Too, her collection of dark, surreal short stories and poetry, was published by Dim Shores in April 2021.
Current Issue
13 Jul 2026

The guillotine was conceived as swifter, painless, more humane. You touch your throat. You wonder.
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