O:JA&L’s Poetry: All forms & styles
Paul Hostovsky
PHTH
Phth is what they call a tetragraph.
I love it. Though I don’t love
most of what it shows up in.
Diphtheria, for one. Imagine it
adhering to your tonsils, closing off
your airway, killing you by slow
strangulation, which it does
to thousands of victims, mostly
children. Jesus! Phthisis,
for another. Which is just another
way of saying tuberculosis.
And don’t even get me started
on the ophthalmological diseases,
or all the phthalates we’re ingesting
from all the plastic. I hate it. But I love
to say it: Phth. Pfft, there’s nothing to fear—
it’s from Ancient Greek, it’s been around
forever. And you gotta love the diphthongs.
I mean who doesn’t love a diphthong?
About the writer:
Paul Hostovsky‘s poems appear and disappear simultaneously (ta-da!). He has no life and spends it with his poems, trying to perfect their perfect disappearances.
Image: St. James’ Infirmary (AI-assisted digital image) by O:JA&L staff creative. 2026. Public domain via Midjourney AI.
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O:JA&L’S BUTTONHOOK PRESS MASTERS SERIES
Click on the titles below to explore or download the free PDF chapbooks in the O:JA&L Masters Series.
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Brian Clements on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Mark Budman on Flash Discourse
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Ray Gonzalez on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Michael Martone on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Roberta Allen on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Peter Conners on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Maxine Chernoff on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Pedro Ponce on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Tom Hazuka on Flash Fiction
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Kent Dixon on Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
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