The Chessboard

The chess board,
Magnets falling off and pieces losing their grip,
Disjointed colours,
Unwillingly joining

With its wrinkled surface
Black and White
Black and white
Like a flickering roll of old film

Where my mother and sister spent their evenings
Hunched over small pieces
Moving far and wide across the board
Like travellers across a sea

With its folding hinges,
the pieces put inside it,
Make a rattling sound
Like marbles dropping onto wooden floors

Ooh’ed and ahh’ed over,
Fought and argued over,
And put back into the cupboard
Only to be taken back out the next day.