Consolation for a Pawn
Look, you start out in the front,
and no one else can begin
besides the leaping knight.
Take comfort in camaraderie.
More than a partner only, you
have seven fellow friends.
Your journey may begin
through alternating dark and light
with not a single step, but two.
Not even that, a king can do.
The mightier too often
will use you as a human shield.
You will be placed in peril,
sacrificed and whisked away.
Don’t forget: once you proceed,
you can’t go back,
and no hurdle can be sidestepped.
You must face them all head on.
But should you have the luck and grit
to make it to the other end,
survive the opposition’s wrath,
you might just become a queen.
Take solace, but keep a watchful eye.
Check.
Adam P. Davis grew up in Maryland, majored in French at Wesleyan University, and received his masters degrees in both political science at Columbia University and supply chain management at Purdue University. He has taught English at several community colleges and spent a year in Shanghai. Currently, he works in the logistics industry. He has been published in Meniscus, Glassworks Magazine, Free State Review, East by Northeast Literary Magazine, and Silver Rose Magazine.