Chess Pieces

by David Solway

But never underestimate
the powers of the pawn
who can promote into a queen
and put a kingdom on,

or moving humbly up the board,
killing on the side,
outpriest the priest, and leave the knight
without a horse to ride,

and trip the elevated rook
to bring it crashing down,
and nudge the misanthropic queen
into oblivion,

and stop before great Caesar's throne,
a tiny regicide,
and watch a cornered monarch fall,
and ponder how he died.

--from The Powers of the Pawn