These are your men.
Since I love you, I can’t give this lesson again.
Couples retain pride
No matter how much they confide.
I will show you the moves
As decorously as sensitivity loves.
I am white. I move first.
This means I should win.
Where losing is cursed,
Lack of focus is the only sin.
Control the center of the board.
Push pawns forward, defending them
With the larger pieces, hidden.
Hiding happens gradually
In the growing number of possible moves;
Castles and knights are easy to see,
But where they move in the future is all.
Protect the king. The king cannot fall.
Hold the smooth piece in your hand
And note the temperature of the squares—
The hottest, where the most pieces are able to land.
Gather the assembled army where
The exchange, the battle, favors you.
Love? No. Plan. So every move seems new.
Take your man. Don’t listen to what you
Think the player who plays black is saying.
Do you love me? Will you read this poem?
The metaphor is all. You cannot win without playing.
