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Before Checkmate
“Tis all a Checker board of nights and days
Where Destiny with men for Pieces plays:
Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays,
And one by one back in the closet lays.”
― Omar Khayyam
We pawns, bishops, castles, and leaping knights
Assume we have free will, self-ruling rights.
We’re not predestined, fated, scripted—in spite
Of DNA or raised wrong or reared right.
We must object! “Such rubbish” we detest.
“I am the captain of my soul!” Protest!
We freely choose which option is the best
To move forward, crosswise, or east or west.
But we are told we’re programmed where we go—
Unconscious wants, groupthink, and life’s cruel blows.
We have no freedom to say “Yes” or “No”
As victims of whatever Fate will throw.
If God knows well which will be the next square,
Whether we fall or strut with stylish flair—
The future’s set—no choice propels us there:
Some Force moves every piece—we don’t know where.
But God knows well which square life stays or slays.
He can sway minds—a different square He plays.
Instead of death, another step delays—
He vetoes Fate—and grants more nights and days.
.
.
Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, and Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48).
Using the phrase, “I am the captain of my soul,” is a great use of the quote from the poem, “Invictus,” by William Ernest Henley. Wrestling with the great concept of fate versus free will is epic and so masterfully wrought. You have left the reader so much to ponder concerning this great philosophic and religious topic. I commend you on a great poem and great thoughts.
Excellent poetry.
Hello fellow former Wolfpack member!
The embedded quote was indeed timely, and I resonate with struggles on the topic–whether foreknowledge denies free will. Perhaps I hear echoes too often, or my mind too given to tangents, but these two lines:
“Instead of death, another step delays—
He vetoes Fate—and grants more nights and days.”
Reminded me strongly of Hezekiah’s prayer. Though a friend pointed out that if he’d just have gone quietly, he would not have had his wicked son, Manasseh. lol. (a pretty wry lol, but still: lol)
My two cents on the debate is that there’s a violation in the language. No matter how phrased the argument that free will is denied by foreknowledge relies on a construct like this:
{But even if you think you chose it, you *always* arrive at the same place.}
Choices are not made with respect to all time, but only with respect to the moment in which they are made. In any case a shorter stretch of time than any time foreknowing the choice. Applying eternity or a different time frame in which the choice was made to it violates its assumptions–its definition. The analysis that foreknowledge denies choice thus is a kind of category error, I think.
In any case, I like Boethius’ solution a lot. A choice is not made to happen because God knows it; it’s the reverse.
I enjoyed your poem…thank you!
You meant something, but I’m not sure what it was.