(Summer 2004)
My son is playing chess
against himself
on both sides of the board.
Already he
has beaten me
twice. (Not bad for a ten
year old!)
Maybe he will
outplay his opponent.
Someone has to win.
That is how most games
are set up.
It might even be his best side.
I smile,
continue to write this poem
as deliberately
as chess moves
with the endgame
in sight.
(for Ricky)
Richard Alan Bunch's works include Summer Hawk, A Foggy Morning, Sacred Space, and Running for Daybreak. Thrice nominated for a PushcartPrize, his poetry has appeared in Fugue, Cape Rock,West Wind Review, Many Mountains Moving, Comstock Review, Poetry Cornwall, Fire, and Black Mountain Review. His latest work is HawkingMoves: Plays, Poems and Stories. He resides in Davis, California.