Sunday, February 26, 2023

poem

 Gambit 

After demonstrating a few basic openings 

I asked my son: what's your gambit going to be?

What will you give up up now

To gain an advantage later?


He said he’d give up the King

Because he was pretty much done 

Hanging out with dad and ready for some

Scheduled online gaming with friends 


Of course this meant I was the King

Who succumbs to an early regicide

On the other hand it meant that I was his King

Such is the timeless quandary of our dynamic


After he left I sat for a while with the board

Realizing I ought to answer my own question

For it's never too late to take a few chances 


I’ll let you have the King’s knight

The one always hovering over my left shoulder

In dreams, whispering useless advice 


You can have either bishop

Or both. 

Burn the cassock and the crozier

I lost faith long ago


I’d give up a pawn 

But I recently lost the last one

The only pieces I have left

Are all worth too much 


I’ll have to give up love instead

In order to be 

The elegant Queen Sacrifice

That leads to a mate   


2/26/23

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