Back On The Grid
Even off the grid, during coffee,
bishops’ diagonal, knights’ jackleg and ripple
the black surface. The king bubbles on the bottom.
Not yet—later. Right. The queen,
graven on the cup, taunts, bares an ankle until
I robot to the screen, key “Expert.” 8x8 grid opens.
16 pawns genuflect; backrow regalia armed to pounce.
Black and white as there ever was.
The first pawn spawn’s today’s metastasis,
square to square, row to row, one by one they fall.
Beaten. Again. By Deep Blue’s kindergartener.
Damnit! Never ever resign—
X it off the grid. Start again.
- Peter Venable 2017
Peter Venable has written both free and metric verse for over fifty years and been published in such witty poetry journals as Bluepepper, Parody, Word Riot, Laughing Dog, Lighten Up Online, Hobo Pancakes and The Asses of Parnassus. He is an amateur writer and published poet, @ petervenable.com.
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