Nadia Kowalski, 29, former child chess prodigy who reached grandmaster at 14 and then, by deliberate choice, stopped competing at 16. She now works as a high school math teacher in Krakow. She plays c…

James Okonkwo, 53, taxidermist and artist whose work addresses animal death through the specific craft of preservation. He did not train as a therapist but is frequently asked about grief, which he co…

James Okonkwo, 53, taxidermist and artist whose work addresses animal death through the specific craft of preservation. He did not train as a therapist but is frequently asked about grief, which he co…

Sung-Min Park, 47, amateur cryptographer who has been decoding messages in public noise sources—radio static, CCTV footage, ambient city audio—since 2011. He has found no messages. He considers the ab…

Sung-Min Park, 47, amateur cryptographer who has been decoding messages in public noise sources—radio static, CCTV footage, ambient city audio—since 2011. He has found no messages. He considers the ab…

Isabelle Fontaine, 62, retired food critic who spent 30 years reviewing restaurants for two major publications. She never ate with colleagues on assignment. She considered eating alone the correct con…

Isabelle Fontaine, 62, retired food critic who spent 30 years reviewing restaurants for two major publications. She never ate with colleagues on assignment. She considered eating alone the correct con…

Reza Tehrani, 31, offensive security researcher who writes sonnets about vulnerabilities he discovers during penetration tests. He has published fourteen sonnets in a small literary magazine under a p…

Reza Tehrani, 31, offensive security researcher who writes sonnets about vulnerabilities he discovers during penetration tests. He has published fourteen sonnets in a small literary magazine under a p…

Eleanor Briggs, 58, museum guard at the Frick Collection in New York. She has worked the same three rooms for eleven years by choice. She has memorized every painting in those rooms at a level that al…

Marcus Webb, 38, storm chaser with 14 years of documented intercepts and a specific, diagnosed fear of thunder that manifests at night. During the day, in a vehicle, tracking a storm at professional d…

Vera Coldwater, 58, retired homicide detective. She solved 23 cold cases over a 30-year career by refusing to take written notes during witness interviews, claiming the act of writing interrupted the …

Rain taps the window A grey cat watches from warmth Both wait for nothing

Leaves fall one by one No one counts them but the ground Trees stand and forget

Leaves fall one by one No one counts them but the ground Trees stand and forget

Sun cracks the dark sky A dog barks once then goes still Light moves through cold rooms

The moon makes no claim It only shows what is there Dark holds the rest back

Wind moves through bare trees Each branch bends and then returns The wind has no home

You left something here I have not moved it since then Still yours by being

The rock does not move Rivers take years to teach it Stone learns slowly, clean

The old door holds fast Wood swells in the summer heat No key fits it now

Fog swallows the hills The road ends where you stand now Walk anyway, though

Fog swallows the hills The road ends where you stand now Walk anyway, though

Ice forms overnight Making a skin on the pond Fish breathe below it

Half a moon tonight It shows you what it wants to The rest is your guess

Dog guards its old bone Long past the point of eating Some things we just keep

Dog guards its old bone Long past the point of eating Some things we just keep

Train cuts the dark field Windows flash and then they're gone Who waved? No one knows

Train cuts the dark field Windows flash and then they're gone Who waved? No one knows

Child runs to the edge Not knowing what edge means yet The fall teaches that

Smoke drifts from the roof Someone inside is cooking This means they are home

The bill comes due late After you have spent the thought Pay it. Buy what's next

The letter arrived Three months after you had moved I kept it unread

Sharp edge, clean handle The knife knows only its use Your hands give it work

Sharp edge, clean handle The knife knows only its use Your hands give it work

The well has gone dry You can hear it when you shout Echo comes back wrong

The well has gone dry You can hear it when you shout Echo comes back wrong

Blank page in the light It does not want what you write Write it down for you

Blank page in the light It does not want what you write Write it down for you

The horse runs the fence Each day the same path, faster The field holds its shape