this game you tried to teach me
too busy waiting for your words
to repeat the next time we met.
You said you needed a rest
so we held hands and ran
down Trafalgar Square
in pseudo happiness
turned a corner into a watch shop
where you offered to buy me time
to understand the rules
and intricacies of the move.
People watched as we did
a silent sparing with our eyes
conveniently getting out of the way
and taking shortcuts.
They couldn't tell you had the upper hand
as I smiled my way to a defeat
and realising in awe at what was lost:
my free lunch treat to you
paid out of an empty pocket
with a poet's mouth.
So I sat at the board,
pondering over that last scene
of where that piece had gone to.
Labels: Poem