Pawned
or
Lust Among the Chess Pieces
Black knight of the cross
checkered demarcations,
Master of airs above the ground,
you caprioled over my board in full panoply
rattling the table with the
arrhythmic syncopation of
your strabismic stallion's hooves,
lance proudly gripped in fisted mail
as ready to conquer as cavort.
You swept away the pawns
outmaneuvered the Bishop, but
when the rook screeched his mock
from the high castle corner,
your stiff King of ebony kings
fell dead on the milk blue breast
of the rose white Queen.
July 2012
Posted for real toads
Sunday Challenge: Photography of Gemma Wiseman
Also, late,
for A Word with Laurie, who featured the word 'demarcation' in her challenge Friday.
Process notes: 'Airs above the ground" is a comprehensive dressage term for various jump movements the horse performs with two or all four legs off the ground. A capriole is one such, according to dictionary.com "..a movement in which the horse jumps up with its forelegs well drawn in, kicks out with its hind legs in a horizontal position in the air, and then lands again on the same spot..."
Image: Outdoor Chess Game, © Gemma Wiseman
Used with permission
The first lines are like a rising scenario till the final grand parade of all things dramatic! Especially love "stiff King of ebony kings"!
ReplyDeletePerfection! I adore the image of the rattling table, the horse in full collection, this whole poem has a cadence that ends as passionately as it begins!
ReplyDeleteoutside of you and Murray Head (who wrote that song One night in Bangkok, and also played Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar on broadway and in film) no one else has brought such a sensual and determined view to chess. I also am choosing this image for my challenge, you set the bar so high, I might just play coy and do the "not really a poem" and more a discussion thing. viva la
ReplyDeleteI love "One Night In Bangkok"!
DeleteJust watched the video--awesome seems like the word. Thanks Izy.
DeleteCheckmate!
ReplyDeleteWhat captures my attention here is the way you imbued the lines with the gallopiness of the horse - I could hear the hoofbeats. Also, of course, your wonderful way with words: the fisted mail rather than the mailed fist.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I'm happy to see my little ping from the bottom corner of Africa on your world map. That's me saying hello!
Thanks, Kerry--I had to get one after watching the one at toads--it's a lot more fun than my flag counter which I've had for years--this way you actually see people interacting, and I especially love to see that South African blip.
DeleteIt's often been said one who tries to push his weight around would fall by the wayside in least expected circumstances. Have a feeling a very similar situation to your verse. Beautiful take,Joy!
ReplyDeleteHank
panoply and strabismic were def new words for me this time around...def the first thing i noticed after that was the cadence of the piece which accentuates it nicely....great imagery as well (and symbolism( in your close the king of kings falling on the milk blue breast of the queen...
ReplyDeleteThanks, brian. This was a bit tongue in cheek. I've used strabismic before in that imp in he fireplace poem, so glad to hear it doesn't feel overused--it's such a distinctive word, really specific, and has that feeling of something that can't focus, out of control as well.
Delete"arrhythmic syncopation of
ReplyDeleteyour strabismic stallion's hooves"
Damn!
Many new words....words sounded the mood in the poem...great...
ReplyDeleteNo mercy for the weaker sex, eh Hedge? *snorf*
ReplyDeleteNot just no, but hell, no. ;-)
Deletehmm, quite the game played out here.
ReplyDeleteI love that--for all his antics--he fails to protect his king in an easily recognized mock rook move. I've always imagined a life sized game, but never with horses. How aptly you balance the prance and the power.
ReplyDeleteHaha! What a play with the prompt, Hedge. Erotic! I like this better - Lust Among the Chess Pieces. Learnt some new words, too. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my, talk about being hunted down and captured:
ReplyDelete"you caprioled over my board in full panoply
rattling the table with the
arrhythmic syncopation of
your strabismic stallion's hooves"
I suppose this is one of the best ways for a king to die:
"fell dead on the milk blue breast
of the rose white Queen"
Excellent work.
~Shawna
I'm always a fan of knights collapsing at the woman's feet. Complex and enjoyable as the game itself, whether love or chess. ;)
ReplyDeleteWonderful sound and urgency. Strabismic certainly a new one on me. Somehow Bismarckian, which also seems to go with the poem. k.
ReplyDeleteWow, I too felt like there was a swiftness of your words, like a horses gallop! I love what you have done. These lines paint quite a picture!
ReplyDelete"fell dead on the milk blue breast
of the rose white Queen"
Bravo!
You make chess sound so very exciting and physical. "arrhythmic syncopation of
ReplyDeleteyour strabismic stallion's hooves" love that!
Just remember to have your cross-eyed stallion hoof it on over to Mr. Knowitall's on Friday.
ReplyDeleteYou've been slacking long enough!!!
G...:-)
Be there with bells on, my friend,( or maybe just a bridle with small clinking beads)--already have it written.
Delete"Black knight of the cross
ReplyDeletecheckered demarcations,"
Love the stand off and perfect use for demarcation!! Yes, Hedge we were SO on the same wave length with this one right down to the castling and the Queen ending!! So fun and neat!!
Smiles to you!
Absobloominlutely frabjuss, Hedge. A vocabulary like yours should be allowed to run and play more often.
ReplyDeleteK