Bishops

The only pieces who only see

Half of the entire board,

And only when they both are free

Can every tile be, by them, explored.

 

The light, the dark – each has its squares,

And sometimes one is more involved

As kings conduct their grand affairs

In turns, until the conflict stands resolved.

 

Although the bishops seem unique

Among the pieces in the game,

They might be most like us, who peek

At glimpses of the whole, with none the same.

 

Only when combined, our stories

Illuminate this world’s greater glories.

 

One of the things I like to do for fun is play chess, and I often feel like that game has a lot to say about life. This is the first of at least a few poems I'm going to share that is inspired by chess and its pieces. If you're less familiar with the game, bishops are only able to move diagonally across the chess board, which is made up of alternating light and dark squares, so these pieces are only ever able to access squares of a single color. Kind of like us, as our perspectives of the world are limited by our own experiences...