Chessboard motives.

Chessboard motives.

Wipe it clean

Sweep the dirt away

Clean hands

Leave fingerprints

Every piece moved

On the board

Has been marked

Even when the King

Is last to fall

His lustre has been tarnished

Every square carries the stain

Of battle

Every victory ends in defeat

For the loser

In a bloodless coup

Sweat ingrained in polished wood

From a thousand moves

How much wiser

Are we

So much less than

We once thought

And yet still we play

Expecting a different outcome

To the last

Spill the wine

As we deliberate

Sticky drops curb the freedom

Of the Rook

To slide freely

From side to side

Wipe the board clean

Begin again

Every piece affected

Even the knights

Have been lost

There is no grail

No end game

No independent thinking

Just a series of moves

Each one dictated

By the last

Until finally

It is game over.