Ignorant Armies

With thanks to Matthew Arnold, who knew the problems of the infantry.


Ignorant Armies


Harry Buschman




 

“And we are here as on a darkling plain. 
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight. 
Where ignorant armies clash by night.”

- Matthew Arnold

Black has the advantage by night. When black plays the black pieces at night black is invisible. White, on the other hand, is starkly revealed – even the hand that moves white’s pieces can be clearly seen. It is unsure of itself, it starts, stops and trembles with indecision. It wants to appear sure of itself but it can’t hide its uncertainty. 


Black boasts that he will beat this white army and leave not a piece untaken. He will march through the night, unseen and unheard, from one darkling plain to the next until everything he beholds is his. Mind you, he is not unsympathetic to white. He knows his enemy is at a disadvantage, but that is the privilege of the invader. He can pick the time and place and make the outcome a forgone conclusion.


But on the other side, the white army stands firm, each man trusting in the man next to him. Every man peers into the thick darkness ahead of him. No movement of the enemy is detected, but the shuffling of clumsy feet, the metallic clicking of gun bolts, the nervous whinny of a knight’s horse and the murmur of voices can be plainly heard.

A pawn, holding his lance well ahead of him, says to the knight behind him, “It is unfair to keep us out here in the dark, we will be picked off one by one.”



“Do you think it is any easier for me?” he replies. “I am the bigger target, I am in far greater danger than you. When they come for us I will be the first one they see” 



“We don’t have the proper equipment,” another pawn complains. “They have weapons superior to ours. Look at my lance! It’s broken in the middle and I’ve had to bind it with cord myself!”



The bishops, who stand between the knights and the Royal Family swing their censers and shake their heads knowingly. “We shall prevail. Have no fear – the Almighty is with the white faith. He is on our side. We walk in the light and the enemy hides in the darkness.”



“I’d feel better if my lance were in one piece,” the pawn mutters. 



Back in the dark the black pawns huddle in the cold, the knight’s horses stumble over the unfamiliar ground.

Every man complains of being in unfamiliar territory. Who knows what traps are set beneath their feet and who can they depend on when they ask the way?

Even the black bishops and the Royal Family of the dark agree that there is no substitute for being on familiar ground.



… and so the great and final battle will not be fought tonight. The danger of defeat is too great on both sides, and if they wait for the day to come they will see that the ground is not worth the battle after all.

There is not enough land on which to bury the dead.



(delete this text and enter your own)

0 0 votes
Rate This Writing
Subscribe
Notify of
9 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
gerry

Harry this tale could be an analogy to many situations through life. Is this a new story or one of your older ones?
I enjoyed the read.
gerry.

gerry

I hope the home is comfortable Harry, and that you are being looked after well. Many homes in the UK are terrible places that cost a fortune. If you own your own home then you have to sell it to pay for the privilege of being in the home. I assume you haven’t been there long.
Gerry

Harry, this is an intriguing piece (no pun intended). I really like ‘the game of chess’ metaphor you use to talk about war and particularly to focus on its ‘ignorance’. Isn’t it just?

And in the light of day (coming to our senses) the ‘land’, what we’re fighting over, isn’t worth it anyway.

Your killer ending is the most cynical ( and sad) I’ve read in a while! But so apt. bel

Harry, so the reason you thank Matthew Arnold is because he used the chess game analogy in a poem or article of his own?

Even tho I’m a Brit I had no prior knowledge of his body of work, or background. Looked him up on the internet but couldn’t find any reference to a chess game. What’s the title of the piece? I’m interested in reading it. I appreciate the introduction to him for I’m Impressed by what I’ve read so far! 🙂

Not selfish, Harry. I think you honor him. Thank you. 🙂

kipper

My thinking as I read your poem was along the line of those expressed by Gerry. Any chess player will have enjoyed your use of that setting with its reliance familiar terms. While I am not familiar with Matthew Arnold I think he would smile at your interpretation.
Michael

leila

Very fine writing as always Harry and the perfect title taken from Arnold’s poem, it could certainly be applied to many situations including that of the confinements of a care home and life’s uncertainties. Best regards…Leila

Harry, read the poem and it IS a gem. But Arnold didn’t use the chess game as metaphor; you did. Had to come back to say how skilled and inventive that was. Use metaphor quite often myself and know it’s not entirely easy to do. And sometimes it just baffles the reader! He/she doesn’t quite understand what the writer is trying to get across. Not so for Ignorant Armies. Kudos, Harry! bel 🙂