Vacation

Vacation

A fortnight’s holiday was planned,

Relax in an exotic land;

I set off to the train station,

My heart fixed on destination.

Arriving there, in plenty time

Before the first departure’s chime,

I sat down with the waiting horde

And spied a man with a chessboard.

He saw my glance across lobby,

Waved to me to share his hobby;

Curious, with some time to spare,

I changed to his adjoining chair.

We started play, first since a boy

And I discovered long-lost joy.

The pieces danced between us both;

When time to leave came, I was loath.

On impulse, I stayed where I was;

I had two weeks, an hour’s pause

Would not impair my vacation,

As trains came oft to this station.

We started on another game;

Other travellers went or came,

But we cared not, embroiled in our

Contest and went by one more hour.

The next game saw us two apiece,

Our battles combined war and peace:

The flow, the surge, the cut and thrust

Made a decider a real must.

So we played on, and on it went

And without me, each train was sent,

All through that day, till station’s close,

With fervour any player knows.

Ruefully, I headed for home,

But no regret really was known;

The day had been a pleasant one,

Although unplanned chess-fest had come.

The next day dawned and with my case,

In waiting room, I took my place.

Then who turned up but my chess foe!

So yes, you guessed, that day did go.

Each day saw me there, case at side,

As we obsessed chess players vied.

After a week, I stopped taking

My case along, I had stopped faking

Interest in that land abroad,

So did instead each move applaud.

Every train was then ignored,

For pleasant times across a board.