Is that the Queen’s English?

On By Sunra RainzIn Creative Blog, photography, Poetry, Writing
© Cornell Capa 1972

Your move. King? No, queen. Wait – there is no queen. Knight, it is. What were you saying? Something about ecstasy? No, I was talking about the expectation of absurdity. Oh? Like when society expects one thing but your soul demands another. It’s the nonsense of things being various. Like gingerbread in summer? Or ice cream in winter? You could say that. What I mean is, no one writes letters any more. The soul wants letters. Instead we are saturated with the toxic thoughts of the masses on platforms that suck out our souls. Mmmmmm, interesting. I suppose people have an overwhelming need to share. Your move. I need a moment…. there. Do you think we ever really know who we are? And that’s why we talk? In order to discover? I think we’re always on the verge of becoming. Yes, but do we ever? Perhaps not. Not if we’re still here. I’m glad to be here. Even though everything seems broken. I know what you mean. There is still beauty in the world. There will always be beauty. The luminous beauty of maths, for instance. Or the ping of understanding between hearts when they open. Yes. A good joke is also beauty. Wouldn’t you say? It depends on the filter of your lens that day. Mmmmmm. Anyway, it’s your move…

© N Nazir 2022

© Cornell Capa

Written for The Sunday Muse (images as shown), Shay’s Word Garden, where we are given inspiration with the poetry of Amy Lowell, Poets and Storytellers United, and Ragtag Daily Prompt: Luminous

63 thoughts on “Is that the Queen’s English?”

    1. Hi Larry! Yes 🙂 Why not? One would have ample time to do so in prison. Some people are genuinely reformed as a result, some are imprisoned when they’re innocent. Tbh, I used the image as a springboard without strictly attributing the dialogue to the two men pictured. But it can be read any way you want. Thank you for sharing your thoughts 🙂

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  5. There IS always beauty. Once, many years ago, I was sitting in the Broadway 50/50 with my dear friend Jim. We were noticing some of the small details around the place and he observed that noticing things like that, or knowing the story behind a thing, just makes life more interesting. I think that’s a kind of beauty, and then of course the recognition and savoring of any kind of beauty just makes life a better gig,

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    1. Absolutely, Shay! It’s great when you can share your observations like that with someone. I’m an out-and-out aesthete, I can’t help it. But I love how the idea of beauty is so relative too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me 🙂

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  9. Depends on the “filter of our lens” isn’t that the sad truth? And it is so hard to see from any other lens but maybe if I move just a bit there will be a different perspective.
    Wonderful conversation here and good questions.

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    1. Absolutely, Debi! Yes, if one were to just try and see things from a new perspective, everything else would shift too and a new truth would be available to us. Thank you for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts on this 🙂

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      1. You are so welcome, dear pen pal! ❤️In school we were encouraged to write letters and send overseas seeking pen pals. Now the web has brought those pals right into our lives. 😀 So am I, glad to have you as my pen pal. Thank you. 💖

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  20. Susie Clevenger

    We never know the journey we will be taken on when we begin a conversation. This one opens my imagination in so many directions. I seem to be more questions than answers these days, but maybe that is exactly where I need to be.

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  24. I, too, could imagine this as a conversation between two guys serving long prison sentences. Maybe for some sort of political demonstration that got out of hand, or some stupid student prank done just to prove that they were clever enough to do it, or driving the getaway car or holding the bag. They’d use their time to think long, deep, if perhaps confused thoughts, educate themselves as best they could out of books, have the sort of long philosophical talks that go on in college dormitories…

    Such things happen to bright, well-meaning young people. There’s a left-wing prison reform movement, and a Bible-based Christian one–not congenial with one another but they share some goals. I’ve never felt called to be active in either movement but perhaps some people who read the poems inspired by the prison chess game will feel so called.

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  27. Pingback: Is that the Queen’s English? – Kingceo

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