P. K. Townes

The Nonsense Tree

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* This story is from a 2023 quick-write and has not been edited. I post it as-is because I like it. Gregory von Pecksalot was bored as shit. His mother gone to work, his nine children still at school, his pizza devoured, and his television broken, he had to find something to do.Walking around the … Read more

Clouds

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The clouds overheadDeclare that I’m deadThe flesh falling free of my bonesA king and his dukesToo free with their nukesJust dropped one on top of my home

The Old Man, His Old Lady, and the Sea

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After a long time waitingShe abandoned the empty shoreCertain that he had lost his wayShe tore her clothes and mournedUpon his return months laterWith bones and nothing moreShe left him outside with his marlonAnd changed the locks on the door

The Neologist

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I took the F from phonicsAnd erased the I from eye,For I am the great neologist,And muddling English brings pride.Don’t let the lexicographer’sPhonetic description derideThe enigma behind my creations,For I will not abide.Remember that time I decidedTo take out shoes’s double O’s?Then switched out the U in roofAnd added an E to nose?You may say … Read more

Etymology

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There is a term for scrutinizing every word you seeThe languages each started in, their growth and historyThe study of the lore behind our terminologyMight seem a bore, but wait there’s more to “etymology.” You ever wonder why some words are difficult to spell?Why silent letters hide in terms like knife, unique, and knell?How words … Read more

The Crane Hubby

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When the sad little bird met the sad little manShe sang a sad song and she flew to his handThen she told him about all the troubles she hadHow when she was a chick, a crow took her dear dadAnd when she grew older she longed for a mateBut found no one to love her—so … Read more