This poem is an *IA Writing Competition (fiction category) entry.
MISSING CHECKMATE
Move after move, the game unfolds;
There are no clocks, though time
Is running out and turn by turn
White and black resort their pieces —
But each time they miss the checkmate
That’s there for either player.
Back and forth and neither
Can win, nor end the game,
Except by forcing that checkmate —
By doing the right thing at last.
John Leonard is a Canberra-based writer and poet who has had five poetry collections published.
* Full IA Writing Competition details HERE.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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