It's Not Cheating (If You Change The Rules) by J. P. Davieslosing, when winning,
is better than never
playing games at all.
So checkmate, before
pawns motion forward.
irrelevent loaded dice,
sink steadfast ships.
while acceptable aces,
come in sets of fives.
hidden up your sleeve?
pale flags swiftly reappear:
it's not quite cheating...
rules constantly change.
"King me"
will you be my Queen?
staring aross battlelines,
has wearied combatants.
removing my token,
from the fray, to rest
softly in your hand.
do what you will with me. 05/10/2004 Author's Note: No one seemed to like "Lifting Up Remnants" so here's something in my usual style.
Posted on 05/10/2004 Copyright © 2024 J. P. Davies
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Rula Shin on 05/10/04 at 09:28 PM I love the title J.P. and you’re so right, change the rules and all bets are off! And yet cheating is no 'good game'...it is quite the opposite in fact...for the boundaries are extended when the dice are loaded, but still we remain imprisoned by our own delusions. This poem is quite clever in it’s analogies, “checkmate, before pawns motion forward.” I do see a contradiction in the first line, however. I do understand what you are trying to say, but one cannot lose WHEN winning (in the broad sense…for any loss which causes a greater win is no loss), just as one cannot win WHEN losing…there can be a duality of loss and win, but they will usually occur on two different planes, not the same one. Hmmm…I hope I’m making sense. I am very fond of the fourth stanza as this is quite successful in revealing the contradiction you speak of…or rather, the irony, “‘King me’ will you be my Queen?” – this is beautiful as the desire to be ‘kinged’ is exceeded by the ‘weariness’ of “combatants” and the desire for something beyond the rules...for the speaker sees that even the loaded dice are "irrelevant" though they take one to the 'winning' side of town. Here is why we cheat, and here is how we trick ourselves, we change the plays by changing the rules…we work hungrily for an end that suits us (excuse the pun hahah)…yes, we keep drawing lines but never in the same dune…I LOVE the way you end this…complete surrender of self, a surrender to the known game in exchange for life beyond the ‘cheating’, beyond the delusion of limitless boundaries created by the “loaded dice” for example...Very nice indeed J.P. Oh and if I’ve completely butchered your meaning sorry hee hee :-) |
Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 05/11/04 at 12:07 AM Love the title, and the playful yet serious text that follows. One of your recent best! |
Posted by Anita Mac on 05/14/04 at 06:21 AM A cute metaphor, most definitely. ~Nita |
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