In Short – Issue 3 (Spring 2025)

May 31, 2025

“The Raven” by Camellia Paul

The Quiet Part

By Matthew E. Henry

“Yo, she was wild for that!” ~ I.B. and T.P. simultaneously, afterward

“Excuse me? Excuse me. I’m so sorry to interrupt your conversation, but are you Matthew E. Henry, the poet? | I thought so! I saw you come in earlier but didn’t want to bother you, especially if I could have been wrong. That would have been really embarrassing. You know what I mean. | Well, I was browsing in [redacted] bookstore a few months ago when I passed a poetry display. Teaching While Black caught my eye. I’m a middle school language arts teacher, so I’m not really into poetry, but I thought the title was interesting and grabbed a copy. | I’m glad I did too! I really enjoyed how it made me think about myself as a teacher and as a person, you know? Like as a white person, as a white teacher. It just gave me a lot to think about, you know? I mean, of course you know: You wrote it! | Anyway, I read through more of your stuff on your website, and I’ve shared some of your poems with my colleagues. And a few of my students of color. They seemed to appreciate it. | Oh, I work at [redacted] in [redacted]. | You’ve heard of it?! | It is such a small world! | Anyway, sorry again for the interruption. It was nice meeting you, and I’ll let you get back to your visit. | You know, it’s funny. | Like I said, I saw you walk in and thought it might be you. But when these college-aged folks joined you, when I saw you sitting here talking with them, I figured it must be you—that these are some of the kids I see in your work. | And besides, how many Black men could there be walking around this town?”

Matthew E. Henry (MEH) (he/him) 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’s recent publications include Anti-Heroin Chic, Had, Identity Theory, Mom Egg Review, Presence, The Prose Poem, Stone Circle Review, Terrain, and Whale Road 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.