Solitary Player

Who says you can’t learn
anything from video games?

I got video game anointed
in the very beginning
of the swirling video game universe
baptized by Pong
mesmerized
by that slow bouncing ball
learned to work the paddle
apply English
for a wicked spin
unreturnab —

What the fuck, I said to myself, discovering
hey, my left hand can handle the tricky gyration
bats the ball back to my right —

No one ever seemed
to want to play with me
waste time and money
so I Ponged alone
and learned that I am, in fact
ambidextrous
can use both hands
when I play by myself

You know what else?

It’s so easy frickin’ peasy
to crown a champion
when there’s only one player
and solitary, man, is the best way
to rule in a newborn world