Mate in One
Lay out your pieces, comrade:
With the tzar in the centre, his back to the wall –
Now just a figurehead, limping-scared, out-weighed
By his regent tzarina, striding bully-tall.
Propped-up by the church, with its zigging-zagging raid,
And crooked-jumping noblemen heralding the call,
As barons in their fortresses sidle and invade –
Headlong-forward charging through this no-man’s-land-in-brawl.
But out there in the frontline are the workers all arrayed –
Surging from their trenches, then trudging through the sprawl.
And even if they reach the end, they’re tossed-aside in trade –
And if they don’t, they’re sacrificed to spare the tzar his fall.
Enough ! Let them strike at those behind of them who stayed
Cowering astern as the fodder feeds the maul.
For even such a lowly piece can put the tzar to blade
Game over, comrade. We both win, after all.
Rhyming Couplets 