Play to Win

[Falcon2001]

Cover your bases and protect your king

You're in control now - it's a sure thing

You never lose but you never win either

What's the point of a game with a saddened winner?

 

I play to lose, I go in unprepared

Play the game with a casual style and flair

When the loser's the one with the grin on his face

I prefer to lose happy than to win with disgrace

 

I dance around subjects and step on the nouns

I never present an edge that isn't round

I'm enamoured with predicates, adverbs too

If I'm in the battle I'm never too blue

 

Life's just a game and you don't need to win

The endings the same either way that you end

Dispose of the old lines and bring in the new

I hate to sound cattish, but the loser is you

 

I play to lose and show up to the fight

With a sharp wit by my side - a lyrical knight

My armor is rusted and my helmet's askew

But I always emerge happier than you

 

We'll duel with words and parry the thrust

We'll argue and fight and bark our disgust

We hide behind pronouns and attack upon sight

But I have no trouble sleeping in the dark of the night

 

 

Just a poem about arguing. I never come to an argument prepared. I just cut and slash my way through it

 

Either way, enjoy.

Edited January 26, 2004 by Falcon2001

[Regel]

Sounds like a chess game at first glance.

 

As an avid chess player I have always seen the metaphors chess has with life.

 

In a game of chess the players lock in a mental combat where preparation often does tip the balance in favour of one person or another. An exchange of pieces can lead to a win in chess, in conversation an exchange of ideas can often lead to a stalemate if both people are entrenched in their positions.

 

When coversation turns into debate the words become pieces and the subject matter the chess board. The game is on! Rounded edges are tough to hold on too and debating is often about thrust and parry. Chess game or life to the player, the game is the thing, not the winning or losing.

 

Interesting post.

[Yuki Kokoro]

This is excellent and I loved it.

 

The structure is strong, but non-obtrusive and it read smoothly. From a topical view of course I adore it because this is the attitude that I think everyone should at least ponder.

 

I really liked this visual: "With a sharp wit by my side - a lyrical knight/ My armor is rusted and my helmet's askew". I also liked the idea of rounded edges in an argument, not strong to the point of being hurtful.

 

Once you've learned to play to win, you will win a lot, but I don't think I personally would be happy that way. I too would rather sleep soundly than win an argument. In my opinion your "success" at the end of life is determined by whether you've been a good person and have treated your fellow humans well, not by how many times you've won in the way the word is generally interpreted.

 

"I'm enamoured with predicates, adverbs too" This line amused me because I have a habit of amending most everything I say until I have so many conjunctions or adverbs that even I am no longer sure of what I just said.

 

Great poem, definitely one of your best in my opinion.

[jonathan_wolfe]

This is the kind of poetry I envy, whilst I can write from the heart, you my friend, can write from the mind, this poem is a delicate dance of vocabulary and wordplay. I loved that "Adverbs too" line, thanks to Yuki to explaining it's signifigance.

 

And there is the thought of peaceful loss, you are already serene with the world so victory or defeat is not key to your harmony with the world, it is simply an event.

 

Tres bien.

[Savage Dragon]

I loved the poem, its word play was great and can be read in many different ways.

 

I'm not sure if i can agree that the knight who goes into lose is going to lose. He's unprepared, and unstructered and therefore not limited by the rules of the other player. Choas can easily overcome logic since it has no boundries and i think that can help our lyrical knight win a few battles and he can still be smiling afterwards.

Edited January 28, 2004 by MeThinksUFoolish

[purple_shadows]

I really liked that poem. Still not to sure if I liked the flow of it or not, but I definately liked what it stood for. i notice that when i play chess, I'm best when I go in without a stratagy. I'm best in debate when the other side starts talking, because I don't come up with counter argruments until then.

[Justin Silverblade]

Still not to sure if I liked the flow of it or not, but I definately liked what it stood for.

lol - Funny, I enjoyed it for exactly the opposite reason, purpleshadow.

 

Don't get me wrong - I'm the first to dislike someone who says "winning is everything." But, I am a big fan of "It's not who wins or loses, but how you play the game."

 

There's a bit of a difference. Going in with teh thought that "I play to lose, I go in unprepared" seems... well, a not very good way to play. Whether I'm a pro at what I'm doing, or a newbie, I always encourage my opponents to realize that they can very easily win... that one side being really practiced ensures nothing. "Playing to win," doesn't nessesarily mean "not playing for fun." But to go at it with such a negative attitude, feels to me a bit spiteful.

 

"I prefer to lose happy than to win with disgrace"

- Love this line, and completely agree with it.

 

"Life's just a game and you don't need to win

The endings the same either way that you end"

- Again love it, adn completely agree -

 

"I hate to sound cattish, but the loser is you

[Verse break]

I play to lose and show up to the fight"

- See this, combined with that second verse, first line, turns teh whole thing around on me. Just because I prepare, and try to win and have fun, means I'm really not having any fun...? And again, I don't know how much fun it would be to play with someone who just wants to actively sabatoge their own competition. Playing a game or an argument to lose is like playing the piano to make obnoxious noise - no one enjoys.

 

"But I always emerge happier than you"

- Again, makes me a little displeased. As someone who tries to win, I've had many games where my opponent and I (who also tries his damnest to win), have really enjoyed the outcome, no matter who wins. Sounds pretentious.

 

"But I have no trouble sleeping in the dark of the night"

- Hmm, well, again, it kind of goes back to my earlier point. And, to be honest... I kind of suspect a lie from the speaker. I remember once when I told a bully whilst he was walking away, happy with his recent bullying triumph, that what he had done was stupid. He turned right around, puffed out his chest, walked right up to me very angrily and said: "Do you think what you say matters to me? We can go right now if you want."

 

I get kinda the same idea from that line - strikes me as the kind of line someone who had spent a couple nights up late would say.

 

That all said, Falcon - I think it's a wonderful poem for that purpose. Not only did I love all the lines I omitted from quoting (they all flowed neatly, and with wonderful imagry! I LOVED the lyrical knight), but they evoked so much emotion out of me. For a poem about arguing, it certainly made me want to argue it! It does a wonderful job. Thank you very much for posting it. Your work is great, as usual. It was a pleasure.

 

- Justin

 

PS - (sorry couldn't resist) "Choas can easily overcome logic since it has no boundries..." Umm... chaos works outisde of logic's boundries, yes. That doesn't make it an effective arguing tool though. In fact, it makes it obsolete as an arguing tool, since it ignores the purpose and composition of arguements. Try playing chess with no rules whatsoever - it doesn't work.

[Savage Dragon]

Hey hey, im not saying chaos will win the battle but its not always going to lose. We've all seen cases of blundering idiots getting away with crap that no mastermind could pull off. chaos still has a chance and if you spend your entire life playing chaoticly you gonna win sometimes no matter what

:dragon4: