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Queen Me by Kelli Russell Agodon


Playing chess I realize how tired I am
of the patriarchy, how the winning move
involves the king, the useless piece
who can only skate square to square.
When playing checkers, I taught my daughter
to say as she slides her plastic red chip
the full-length of the board: Queen me.
It returns to my youth when I wanted
to play baseball and the coach said,
Girls can only play softball and tossed me
what looked like a small leather planet.
Queen me, I wanted to say when I couldn’t
be captain of the kickball team, couldn’t
play Santa in the school show. Queen me,
my daughter says to the neighbor boy,
who without question places another checker
on her piece. Later I hear him say
to my daughter, Queen me as they begin
another game. Queen me, he says again
and again as the universe begins to shift
like a tilted tiara finally made right. Queen me,
I say to the moon while sitting on my porch,
my family asleep, unknowing how
sometimes my crown is made from worry
while all the gems are made from hope.

 

 

 


Kelli Russell Agodon is a poet, editor, and book cover designer. Her most recent book is Hourglass Museum (White Pine Press). She is the cofounder of Two Sylvias Press and lives in the Pacific Northwest where she’s an avid paddleboarder and an enthusiastic chess player. www.agodon.com / www.twosylviaspress.com



8 responses to “Queen Me by Kelli Russell Agodon”

  1. Michael says:
    August 26, 2019 at 9:15 am

    Kelli, love your poems and this one’s gift of hope. Thanks, Michael

    Reply
  2. Lucinda says:
    August 27, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    I will read anything this woman writes.

    Reply
  3. Diane says:
    August 29, 2019 at 7:33 pm

    Amazing. Heartbreakingly beautiful.

    Reply
  4. Lois says:
    August 30, 2019 at 6:35 pm

    You continue to stun me Kelly.

    Reply
  5. Nancy says:
    September 7, 2019 at 4:39 pm

    Love how the “small leather planet” of the softball plays with the moon at the end!

    Reply
  6. Bridgette Leigh says:
    January 14, 2020 at 4:12 pm

    So pretty, thanks.

    Reply
  7. Kelli Russell Agodon says:
    November 19, 2020 at 2:14 pm

    Oh my gosh–I just read all these kind replies–thank you all! And thank you LA Review!

    Reply
  8. Francesca Moroney says:
    November 28, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    Kelli, this is just stunning. Thank you for sharing. Just the oomph of beauty and resilience I needed today.

    Reply

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