Jenny Shepherd
Across the Board
In an independent, local café, I fill in an hour between appointments. At the table next to me, sits a couple: she is a young, Asian woman, perhaps 30, at the most, and he is a much older, white man, certainly not less than 50, and probably at least 60. They have clearly known each other for some time, as I hear him thank her for a card she has sent him, but there is a formality to the way they interact. I ponder what their relationship is, as they can’t be related, as otherwise, they’d presumably be more relaxed; it’s mid-afternoon, so it’s unlikely they’re work colleagues; and their body language surely implies they can’t be romantically involved.
He reaches into his large holdall, and pulls out a game compendium, which he places on the table. From the box, he removes a chess board, and a bag of chess pieces, which they both place on the board.
”Let’s see if you can beat me this time”, he says. I have to leave before the game ends.
frenemies on
a battlefield
The Art of War
About the Author
Jenny Shepherd lives in east London. She discovered haibun in mid-2022 and feels lucky that the second one she wrote appeared in The Haibun Journal. Her haiku are regularly published in national and international journals. She’s been the Stanza representative in her area for The Poetry Society since 2008, and is currently the Communications Officer for The British Haiku Society.