deepundergroundpoetry.com
He who gets to play last
Beware of the fairy, she promises much:
"The battle is won when you take and you take"
But sometimes it is more a subtle touch
That winners choose and the fools forsake
The armies stood facing each other
Their eyes are filled with dread
For only one waits victory, for the other the cry
The king is dead!
And so begins the battle
The flanks and ranks advance
One army begins to slaughter many
The other makes it a dance
For greed is not a master
For greed is a blind fool
As one army goes down
It also gets closer to ultimate rule
For deep into the lines they go
To get near to the heart
Their aim straight and true at the king
At last he gives a start
But it's too late, the sword cuts down
To earth returns the golden crown
Supposed victor is filled with dread
As the cry rises: "Our king is dead!"
The moral of the story
Is that the die of life is cast
Not by the one who consumes the most
But by he who gets to play last
"The battle is won when you take and you take"
But sometimes it is more a subtle touch
That winners choose and the fools forsake
The armies stood facing each other
Their eyes are filled with dread
For only one waits victory, for the other the cry
The king is dead!
And so begins the battle
The flanks and ranks advance
One army begins to slaughter many
The other makes it a dance
For greed is not a master
For greed is a blind fool
As one army goes down
It also gets closer to ultimate rule
For deep into the lines they go
To get near to the heart
Their aim straight and true at the king
At last he gives a start
But it's too late, the sword cuts down
To earth returns the golden crown
Supposed victor is filled with dread
As the cry rises: "Our king is dead!"
The moral of the story
Is that the die of life is cast
Not by the one who consumes the most
But by he who gets to play last
Published 8th Oct 2020
Author's Note
This poem is inspired by the "Chess or Death" competition, which I saw too late to enter, but it awoke the desire in me to write about chess. The poem is based on the "Immortal Game" between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Adalbert Bagration Felix Kieseritzky, where Anderssen sacrificed his strongest pieces for a checkmate with his remaining minor pieces. From a material point of view the game was all but won for Kieseritzky, but Anderssen still managed the checkmate. I think the game is a beautiful metaphor for choosing longevity over greed.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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