The Last Chess Shop in New York City

King of the Night

At night, this,
whatever this material that
gives us this blackness around,
it’s a nice companion.
In a city like New York,
when it’s hustle and bustle,
and millions of people.
Here you are the king of the night,
in the store.
Outside you are the king of the city.

And now you see
each street
has its own double life.
A curtain is raised,
and you see
the homeless,
the Con Edison guy,
the garbage guy,
the rat,
the bat.
All the creatures of the night.

And 5, 6 o’clock in the morning,
and somebody pulls a curtain,
and all that theater of the night
is gone.

That theater, I find,
this is my place.
These are the people that-
you become invisible like them.”

— Imad Khachan

This is a test. It is only a test.

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