The relay was four hundred meters divided into four legs of one hundred meters, which was a description that ignored everything. Kemi ran the first leg because she was fastest off the block, not becau…

The pulse came in on a frequency Dr. Kim had not listed as active on her survey. It repeated at 4.2-second intervals, which was not a natural interval for any phenomenon she could immediately name. Sh…

The pulse came in on a frequency Dr. Kim had not listed as active on her survey. It repeated at 4.2-second intervals, which was not a natural interval for any phenomenon she could immediately name. Sh…

Thomas had a memory that did not decay. Specific episodic events, he had told Dr. Reeves at their first session, stayed with him at full resolution for decades. Not his general knowledge, which was no…

The last shift at the Elmore Stamping Plant was March 14th. The shift started at six and ran until two-thirty in the afternoon, which was the same as any other shift for the past forty years, except f…

Dr. Miriam Osei could identify, from a sample of soil on a person's shoes, which part of which city they had walked through in the past forty-eight hours, assuming they had not cleaned the shoes. This…

Leonard Marsh, 67, reference librarian emeritus who has read the endings of books before deciding whether to read the rest since 1974. He is not interested in surprises; he is interested in whether th…

Cass Deering, 49, licensed therapist who spent twelve years as the leader of an apocalyptic commune in rural Oregon before leaving in 2009. He has never publicly discussed this period. His therapy pra…

Marta Voss, 55, professional mourner based in Copenhagen. She attends funerals of strangers for a fee and grieves with skill. She has attended 1,400 funerals since 2001. She does not consider this mor…

Felix Andrade, 44, cartographer who specializes in maps of places that do not exist. His clients include novelists, game designers, and one government agency that has never explained its needs. He des…

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

Snow fills old footprints The path you walked is gone now Walk where you must walk

Flames eat the dry wood No log asks to be consumed Ash holds its own shape

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

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

Clocks count the same beats The hours do not care who waits Time takes what it takes

Mud smells like a plan Seeds do not know they will fail They push up through it

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

Stars burn far from here We name them to keep them close They do not hear us

The river runs clear Over stones worn smooth by years Cold, and going still

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

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

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

One crow on the fence Watching you with no feeling It was here first, too

One crow on the fence Watching you with no feeling It was here first, too

Bread cools on the board Steam lifts off the cracked brown crust Eat it while it's warm

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

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 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

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

One candle burns low The wax pools and cools too fast Dark waits just outside