Death Of An Avid Chess Player

I spent my life playing a game.
And now for loneliness I blame,
No other but myself. Indeed,
In love with chess, I fell so deep.

And in this world of black and white
I was immersed all day and night.
Nimzowitsch, Fischer, Morphy, Tal
Each one by one became my pal.

A Queen, a King, a Rook, a Knight,
Conspired to keep me by their side.
I set my goals, I set them high
To be a grandmaster, I won’t lie.

The more I played, the more I learned
Into chess addict I have turned.
I started to say “no” to friends
My wife and I stopped holding hands.

When sitting next to her at dawn
“Sunrise or chess?”, my mind was torn.
And while admiring its beauty,
I did one more chess puzzle duty.

Little by little I withdrew
From life itself. For all I knew
I had my goals, I had my pride.
I won – I smiled. I lost – I cried. 

And then one day I realized
That my whole life has passed me by.
There is no way to bring back time
When I was once at my top prime.
 
A “no”, that should have been a “yes”
More time with friends, instead of less.
All of these things lead me to be
Confined in thoughts and never free.

A peck that could have been a kiss
Her warmth that now so much I miss.
Quick hug that could have been embrace
These moments vanished with no trace. 

Then to one truth, I have resigned
Chess mastery has no end in sight.
It’s only when on my deathbed
My lonely heart woke up and bled.

People will study my chess games
The parts of me that will remain.
But will, at all, anyone fuss
And recall me, for who I was?

***

If I was a fortune teller, I would predict this fate to several chess players I’ve met over the years.

Cover photo credit @palamedescacchi