An atom’s 99.9%
nothing at all. The world’s an empty place.
Its solid shapes are objects we invent
to give a form to nuclei and space.
But these constructions aren’t exactly fake”
it hurts when, as a test, we kick a stone;
electrons charge across the void and make
illusions hard enough to break a bone.
Outside the window, photons waver, glow,
collapsing to what matters here: your bright
blue scarf, dark hair; a body that I know
is not a trick of late November light.
You and I”more than a thought, thin air”
unique arrangements of what isn’t there.
What We’ve Been Reading—Autumn 2025
First Things staff share their most recent autumn reading recommendations.
Walker Percy’s Pilgrimage
People can get used to most anything. Even the abyss may be rendered tolerable—or, for that matter,…
Outgrowing Nostalgia in The Ballad of Wallis Island
No man is an island,” John Donne declares in his Devotions upon Emergent Occasions. The Ballad of…