The Game We All Play

Life is but a simple game

The one with the knight, rook, and pawn

The question is which piece you are

And, of course, which side you're on

All games begin the same

With a blank slate

Endless possibilities

Your choices determine your fate

At first you have much freedom

You can move about and make mistakes

Soon, circumstance governs your every act;

You try to make the move a winner makes

Now where was I about to go with this?

Ah, yes - which piece you are is also key

In chess, you'll notice most of them are pawns

But this is also true in life, you see;

We pawns do someone else's bidding

Our menial labors going all unseen

Expended for a greater cause

To the glory of a king or queen

The thing is, though,

The game needs pawns to play

Where any kingdom has a will

The pawns will be the way

Sure, there are other pieces too

Perhaps occupying a king's near tile

But still they are his slaves;

They just serve with greater style

You can be captivated by their guises--

The piety of bishops or the flair of rooks

But their duty is the same as yours

Do not be fooled by fancy looks

We pawns have our own greatness

Often underestimated by our foes;

Pawns can become anything they want

If they're able to advance the rows

And now about the kings…

Such odd things, kings.

They even find their way

Into the land where freedom rings

They are the most important on the board

They know the rules

They aid the schemes of rooks

They take their own pawns for fools

In the case that you're a king, I'll have you know

You sit upon a fragile, fragile throne

You might have impressive armies to command

But you're capable of nothing on your own

The world, unlike the game of chess,

Is not black and white;

The good and bad, they sometimes look the same

And it's hard to know the cause for which you fight--

But still it teaches lessons learned in life

You'll learn to make sacrifices, perhaps

To know your enemy

And escape his traps

Will you prevail?

It depends how hard you try

The same is true in life

Sometimes you win, and sometimes you die