Did you know our lives resemble Chess?
that in  all decisions
right from the start
you need to think ahead
about the choices being made
about who it is going to affect
because it ain't just you
choosing to sacrifice what you want to do
to help others...
or not
willing to change plans at the last minute
because of a
cancellation
a death
not everything goes our way
sometimes we need to make
small moves
simple
sometimes we need to switch it up a bit
ride the horse
take a breather
I mean time isn't really on our side
you see each second that passes by
is then one minute
one move
one choice
closer to death
sometimes
when you think you have won
you find yourself stalling
going back and forth going anyway you can
till you just have to face your moves
head on
and let go
to bad we only have
one chance to live
so make all your moves count
for you never know when your
last
breath
will
be

if i had my way,
it would all match up,
but so many variables
are in play,

and i wish
instead of having a
chess match,

we'd just throw
the king and queens,
pawns and knights,
-- rooks too---,
off the board.

Ancient words spoke in syllables unknown
vortex about me in forms of growing smoke.
Ghosts of times passed swirl about,
their eyes locked to mine and mouths wide,
tethered to me as a center point.

Life must be chosen once per day
but the reaper must only make one deft move.
The smoke continues to rise and tighten,
the spirits muted howls fade in and out,
and I cough.

I choke and cough as the smoke fills my lungs,
desperately trying to expel but I fall.
There I lay, wheezing and hacking,
A rejection, a fight, a resistance,
longing for the clean air that I
did not believe until it was gone.

My throat burns dry and bruised,
but the smoke does not stop its growth
and the chants grow louder still,
filling my mind and shaking my skull.

The smoke fills my lungs to capacity and
I call out but it comes as another cough
and another after, again and once more,
my eyes watering and hands gripping chest,
until at last I gasp one rattling inhale
and Fade to black.

The Quest

Oft I ponder the quest that I have been delivered upon

Whilst laying in the midst of a field of straw

Mine eyes gazing in the sky with it’s hews of gold

Not far from here lies the battlefield

Forthwith there will be bloodshed and mayhem

But as I rest my weary bones upon the coolest of thine earth

Mind over matter is what I behest

Is it the goal to capture the king as in a game of chess

Am I the pawn sent out earliest to set the tone

For the rest of the game to follow

Or be the fortunate survivor having played a skilled match

My protector some unknown hand

Guiding my way whilst I traverse through an army ahead

Each step a calculated risk that could end in my demise

Somehow out of my control yet each of my moves

Dictating where this may all end

Devout to the King

But looking to create a new Queen

That will carry on the lineage I am here to shield

Thus I start my day

Andreas Simic©

God is the game master
I am the Chess player
I play the King and just like anybody else
I too am afraid to loose my most valuable piece - my queen.

She taught me, a demon, two things...
How to smile and how to cry.

poem is peace, chess is war
poem is ease, chess is scar
poem is heart, chess is mind
poem is art, chess science
poem is inspiration, chess is *******
poem is emotion, chess is reason
poem is love, chess logic
poem is nostalgic, chess futuristic
poem is life, chess is death
poem is joy, chess regret
poem is smile, chess is frown
poem is commoner, chess is crown
poem is beautiful, chess is serious
poem is Persephone, chess is Icarus
poem is light, chess darkness
poem is more, chess is less
poem is free, chess confined
poem is timeless, chess is timed
poem is high-spirited, chess is nervous
poem is silent, chess is famous
poem is blissful, chess uncertain
poem is forever, chess is beginning
poem is generosity, chess is sacrifice
poem is welcome, chess is goodbye
poem is garden, chess battlefield
poem is human, chess is machine
poem is heaven, chess is the world
poem is pen, chess is sword