Pravat Kumar Padhy

Gobbledygook

I received a message about my friend, who is admitted to the hospital. When I asked about his condition, the doctor paused for a while, took a long breath, and told me he had been suffering from “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilocovolcanokoniosis.” I felt completely verklempt. I have amaxophobia and prefer to travel by plane to meet my friend. Growing tired and taxed by the book I carry, full of sesquipedalian vocabulary, I relaxed a bit while sipping a cup of coffee. Upon inquiry, the doctor consoled me and explained my friend’s quick recovery in plain language.

As evening fell, overwhelmed by the celestial wonder of syzygy, I invited my friend to glance through the hospital window and prayed for an expeditious convalescence.

cruciverbalist…
my granddaughter tutors me
on puzzle parlance

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About the Author

Pravat Kumar Padhy holds a Master of Science and a Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Technology, ISM Dhanbad. He is a 2022 panel judge for The Haiku Foundation Touchstone Awards and is on the editorial board of Under the Basho. Besides poetry, he devotes time to writing scientific papers on planetary geology and listening to classical songs.

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