Tiresias Plays Chess in Their Spare Time
by Sara Backer
Image by Edward Michael Supranowicz
The prophecies cause temporary blindness
(so much god-force the brain shuts off the eyes)
but at leisure, the man-woman can see knights
and bishops on the board. They plug their ears
to prevent an accidental prophecy of birdsong.
Their thick white beard and long white locks
fall over breasts which rest on a pregnant belly
(for they is always pregnant with the god-force).
Tiresias chooses black, to let their chess partner
move forward first, to respond to the moment.
Their friend slides his castle and his hand lifts
the pale queen. (Is this a mistake?) Tiresias laughs,
delighted they didn’t see the capture coming,
to leave the blinding future far ahead.
About the Author:
Sara Backer’s first book of poetry, Such Luck (Flowstone Press 2019) follows two poetry chapbooks: Scavenger Hunt (dancing girl press) and Bicycle Lotus (Left Fork). Her honors include a prize in the 2019 Plough Poetry Prize Competition, nine Pushcart nominations, and fellowships from the Norton Island and Djerassi resident artist programs. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Art and reads for The Maine Review. Recent and forthcoming publications include The Pedestal Magazine, Crannog, Tar River Poetry, DMQ Review, Slant, and Kenyon Review. Follow her on Twitter @BackerSara
About Weekly Flash Prose and Poetry:
CutBank Online features one work of flash prose or prose poetry every Friday. Submissions are free and open year-round. Send us your best work of 750 words or less at https://cutbank.submittable.com/submit.