What If

By Duane Ackerson

We taught recombinant DNA

to recombine,

turning tumors into birds

that freed themselves

from the cages of our bodies,

misery flying out the window,

a flock of blackbirds

that only comes back later

to tap at the pain,

begging for a few more scraps of us?

Or never returned,

burrowing down into the ground

like certain owls

to sing their own dark songs

almost muffled by the earth

in their mouths?


Duane Ackerson's poetry or fiction/prose poetry has appeared in places like Rolling Stone, The Christian Science Monitor, Yankee, The Magazine of Speculative Poetry, Northwest Review, and in various anthologies. He's received an NEA writing fellowship and two Rhysling awards and is a big fan of great American songwriters like Frank Loesser. You can find more of his work in our archives.