"what is PacMan without the ghosts?"
she meant it existentially. ontologically. who, what,
why is PacMan if not pursued through blue halls
and bunkers by Blinky and Pinky? not cornered
by Inky and Clyde? does he become less as only
a husband, a father when not turning the tables,
power-pelleting his way past oppression?
can he digest the 256 levels he’s been allotted
in peace before his body blossoms backwards –
petals receding to seed, singularity to supernova?
must he be defined by the spectral fears chasing him
from darkness
to darkness?
Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is the author of six poetry collections, the editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal, the creative nonfiction editor at Porcupine Literary, and an associate editor at Rise Up Review. MEH is a high school teacher who received his MFA, yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing an MA in theology and a PhD in education. He writes about education, race, religion, and burning oppressive systems to the ground at www.MEHPoeting.com.
See more of his work in 13.3