Chess
Wonderland Poetry Prompt Challenge Day 23
You moved in patterns,
moral geometry,
with angles sharper than empathy,
measured steps dressed up
in strategy's red cloth,
trying to jump squares
as if this were checkers
and it would win you a crown.
You always chose white
so you'd be sure to always go first,
rules older than mercy, your favorite kind.
I followed.
Quiet.
Diagonal.
Powerless until provoked.
The queen,
only when it served your theater.
You sacrificed pawns,
sermons dripping from your lips.
Suffering always makes
such an excellent alibi.
The bishops sanctified your every strike,
the knights danced lies in cursive Ls,
while you stood idle on the flanks,
Your armor gleaming with secondhand virtue.
In the end,
when the board burned
and the kingdom fell in a whisper,
It wasn't war
or wisdom
that betrayed you,
just a single, sideways piece
that you had overlooked.
That's what happens when rooks
pretend to be kings.
Participant's Poems
About the Creator
Ellie Hoovs
Breathing life into the lost and broken. Writes to mend what fire couldn't destroy. Poetry stitched from ashes, longing, and stubborn hope.
My Poetry Collection DEMORTALIZING is out now!!!: https://a.co/d/5fqwmEb
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Day 4 of Quitting
If this is how sobriety feels, maybe it’s better to go through life a little buzzed… this, along with other hits like, I want to kill myself, I wish I was dead, and I’m going to throw myself off a bridge have been the only thoughts on rotation these past few days. I promise myself that if, in a month, I still feel like this (‘this’ meaning despondent, full of rage, and simultaneously numb) I can go back to smoking. Until mid-February though? Nicotine is off the table.
By sleepy drafts7 days ago in Longevity
Comments (12)
Oh, this is brilliant, Ellie. “When the rooks pretend to be kings,” I love that. Here’s my entry for Chess: https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/chess-p01a220xra%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="w4qknv-Replies">.css-w4qknv-Replies{display:grid;gap:1.5rem;}
Last one for today, my entry for Day 23, thanks! https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/dinner-with-checkmate%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class="css-w4qknv-Replies">
Here’s my silly Chess poem😳: https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/charming-chess%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E Absolutely brilliant… quite the tale/poem! I love how you incorporated the moves of the pieces! I especially like: “ You always chose white so you'd be sure to always go first, rules older than mercy, your favorite kind. I followed. Quiet. Diagonal. Powerless until provoked.” Very deep!✅
This is dynamite! You really used the Chess metaphors brilliantly from beginning to end!!
Ellie, this poem is simply awesome!!! I am not a chess player, but I've always been curious.
Hi Ellie, here is my Chess poem: https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/a-loser-in-your-game-of-chess%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E Loved your poem, especially: That's what happens when rooks pretend to be kings.
https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/chess-ef196s0yb1%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E Here's mine!
I think that chess can teach us a lot about how to move through life. That each move has a consequence further down the line, that may or may not be anticipated.
A clever poem about a strategic game of chess and life, showing how ignoring the small things leads to downfall
I love how rich the imagery is. The knights dancing in cursive L's is wonderful.
Powerful and an excellent reminder on how the right and wrong strategies can make a huge difference even with one simple move.
Well-wrought! The saying goes: "Don't hate the player, hate the game", but I always think: there is no game without any players.