Heartworm

Cover image for the Heartworm word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Heartworm

n.
a relationship or friendship that you can’t get out of your head, which you thought had faded long ago but is still somehow alive and unfinished, like an abandoned campsite whose smoldering embers still have the power to start a forest fire.

From heart + earworm, a catchy piece of music that compulsively loops inside your head.

Burn Upon Reentry

Cover image for the Burn Upon Reentry word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window

Aftergloom

Cover image for the Aftergloom word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Énouement

a hand opening a curtain

Mottleheaded

Cover image for the Mottleheaded word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Licotic

Cover image for the Licotic word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows