The writing of Sam Hilsman. Poems, essays and stories from one crooked building.https://plaintextpoetry.com/en-ushttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/corporate-drones/a-field-guide-to-spotting-gatekeepers/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/corporate-drones/a-field-guide-to-spotting-gatekeepers/Across different industries, different buildings, I keep meeting the same person.Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTCorporate Dronesleadershipmanagementproductivityworkplace-cultureworkhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/twenty-answers/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/twenty-answers/What a word means to the room and what it means to each person in it, and how thin the overlap turns out to be.Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophyphilosophywritinglanguagepsychologycommunicationhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/look-at-the-teeth/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/look-at-the-teeth/My grandfather, dying, said not to trust any of them, and especially not the nice ones.Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophyhuman-naturepsychologycreative-non-fictionpersonal-essayphilosophyhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/borrowed-shapes/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/borrowed-shapes/An analogy is a shape borrowed from somewhere else, and this is about what happens when it gets asked to finish the argument.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophyphilosophysystems-thinkingmental-modelscritical-thinkingartificial-intelligencehttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/corporate-drones/departures/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/corporate-drones/departures/Volume 1: Departures. Darren is at an airport and he is trying to get home.Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMTCorporate Dronesmental-healthwork-culturesatirecorporate-culturefictionhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/ajar/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/ajar/Track the fickle beastly tread Fill me to the brim with lead Drop the crown, spin the topThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/ascend/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/ascend/Descended into a pit of darkness. Hunting, haunted, hunted. The growth seeps as the thicket recedes.Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/better/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/better/You beautiful bitch Rich in self-imagery Seamless, every stichThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/break/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/break/You dandelion You blister Shake the shit offThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/citizen/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/citizen/She sits and sits She waits and waits Trust nothing but the AceThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/crunchy/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/crunchy/Fickle, fleeting I see you deepest when I’m desperate, Another bout of insanityThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/distracted/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/distracted/Fractured Pulled in a million directions FragmentedThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/down/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/down/Soon I will see the underground. Trees speak with violet leaves cracked and dried on the floor.Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/enigmatic/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/enigmatic/You mystery, You You look so coolThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/entropy/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/entropy/Every wall adorned Our nomadic masks Keeping us distantThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/equanimity/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/equanimity/Through your apathy, your ineptitude Do you destroy? Through your idleness, your inactionThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/faith/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/faith/Went for a run Sat by the river at its conclusion The conclusion of the runThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/fractal/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/fractal/A million seconds A million minutes A million hoursThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/huxley/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/huxley/It’s queer, here In this brave new world Your people all appearThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/individual/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/individual/Face the reaper, the creature It comes to feast on your feats Your trophies, your accomplishments, your retreatThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/integrity/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/integrity/Silent autumn whisper An octave lower and we’d have missed it The rippling airThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/introduction/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/introduction/One thing I try to do today But that I didn’t always do I’m ashamed to sayThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/jackass/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/jackass/Too little, too late Grabbed, and missed Tail shifted and slipped swiftly awayThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/lazy/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/lazy/Waking up To a dream It’s cookie cutter HoloceneThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/lessons/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/lessons/I’m stewing Chewing my thoughts They’re rottenThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/limping/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/limping/Where’s the texture? Where are my words? I’ve lost my gripThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/lucid/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/lucid/On the cliff of insanity You find yourself wandering Through folds of the mindThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/once/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/once/We sat Comfortably numb Buried in the long arm of the willowThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/online/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/online/So many seconds How do you fill them? Are you fulfilled?Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/outsider/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/outsider/Juggling, jangly, unguided Why am I always so lopsided? I see you from where I’m standingThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/paralysis/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/paralysis/So tell me when will I pass the test? A crooked recompense, you look back on the pathThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/psychiatric/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/psychiatric/The beginnings The endings Those are the wings of thingsThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/right-sized/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/right-sized/Often as not, If you watch the pot, You’ll find it slow to boil.Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/shaky/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/shaky/You just hit the gas Harder than you ever have Congrats, you send itThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/sissy/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/sissy/Your lips pucker Preparing for a tender kiss The soft brown folds stare with anticipationThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/sizing/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/sizing/I can always tell How big of a day it’s going to be When I go outside and walk the dogsThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/steady/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/steady/When I walked I used to look around me Take everything inThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/time/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/time/I see you pumping gas On a Thursday night Looking lonelyThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/toxic/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/toxic/Would it be so nice To just give in To lace every word with venomThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/unsolicited/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/unsolicited/Can’t you see the boy is stuck. Searching for what? It oscillates, shimmers, moonstruckThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/wait/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/wait/Half in the hole Peeking out, Am I alone?Thu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/you/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/you/I have never been so sad I’ve never looked at something so beautiful So preciousThu, 25 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/artificial-time-machine/5-beautiful-things-about-ai/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/artificial-time-machine/5-beautiful-things-about-ai/Underneath the slop there is some real beauty in what the machine lets a regular-ass human do.Thu, 09 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTArtificial Time Machinedeveloper-toolssoftware-engineeringartificial-intelligencesystems-thinkingprototypinghttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/what-are-we-meant-to-do/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/what-are-we-meant-to-do/Rules of reality, version 3, still being iterated on, and what I think they add up to.Tue, 30 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophypurposehumanitymeaningsocietyphilosophyhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/the-great-divide/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/the-great-divide/Compromise has become a liability in American politics, and if you have ever watched an unhealthy marriage you know the vibe.Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophycivic-engagementpolarizationus-politicspoliticsdemocracyhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/learning-without-pictures/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/learning-without-pictures/I cannot picture an apple, and for the first 28 years of my life I did not know other people could.Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophylearningeducationneurodiversityaphantasiapersonal-growthhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/theres-nothing-behind-the-curtain/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/theres-nothing-behind-the-curtain/We like stories about wizards, and I have met a few of the people behind the curtain, and so have you.Mon, 21 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophyhumanityempathysocietymental healthphilosophypsychologyhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/artificial-time-machine/will-ai-take-my-job/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/artificial-time-machine/will-ai-take-my-job/Nobody has a crystal ball on this one and the people who say they do are mostly selling something, so this is a guess from someone who builds with the machine in the daytime.Thu, 19 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTArtificial Time Machineaifuture of workhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/stop-thinking-about-them/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/stop-thinking-about-them/We sort people into boxes to get through the day, and the trouble starts when the box has a whole group of people in it.Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophyempathypsychologygratitudehttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/abstract/gratitude-is-the-murderer-of-comparison/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/abstract/gratitude-is-the-murderer-of-comparison/Most of us are not going to quit social media, so the measuring yourself against everyone on it has to stop some other way.Mon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTAbstractcomparisonsocial mediamental healthpsychologygratitudehttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/abstract/youre-addicted-to-social-media/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/abstract/youre-addicted-to-social-media/LinkedIn, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, pick your poison, mine were Reddit and YouTube and for a while they were the first thing I did every morning.Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTAbstractattention economysocial mediamental healthhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/the-death-of-purpose/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/the-death-of-purpose/I went into healthcare to help people, and this is about what I found when I got there.Wed, 07 May 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophypurposeburnoutmental healthpersonal essayhealthcaremeaningful workhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/abstract/the-messy-art-of-living/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/abstract/the-messy-art-of-living/A poem called Break, and the things it turned out to be about.Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTAbstractmental healthpsychologypoetryself-reflectionhttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/have-we-indoctrinated-ourselves/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/philosophy/have-we-indoctrinated-ourselves/The first time you hear something vile you recoil, and after enough repetitions you stop hearing it.Mon, 14 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTPhilosophycritical thinkinghttps://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/hybrid/https://plaintextpoetry.com/writing/poetry/hybrid/I'm half machine At least Don't look at me too closelySun, 11 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMTPoetryvolume-1