Povism

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

Povism

n.
the frustration of being stuck inside your own head, unable to see your face or read your body language in context, only ever guessing how you might be coming across—which makes you think of yourself as a detached observer squinting out at a lushly painted landscape, though to everyone else you seem woven right into the canvas.

From point of view + ism. Blessed are the slugs, whose eyes are held aloft on wriggling stalks, just tall enough to see their entire bodies in context. Pronounced “poh-viz-uhm.”

Skidding

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

Innity

a neatly made bed with diffused light glowing

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Wellium

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

Lisolia

a bookcase containing objects

Foilsick

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