Chessboard

Back then, in lieu of reason
The Sugar Loaf was the zenith of the world
And unicorns inhabited the depths of every forest.

Without a doubt, each traffic light was operated
By a dwarf in an underground station,
And no answer would ever satisfy the question.

Peter Pan came knocking on my window every night
And taught me how to fly.
I caught a glimpse of Neverland in the corner of my eye.

Back then, the black king had yet to move from his square
I had yet to know how to play the game –
Yet to claim the pawn; initiate.

Now the pieces scatter across the battlefield.
A white Sugar Loaf mounds, conquered.
It is a game I shall never win.

Each dead soldier leads Neverland further adrift.
Sooner or later, I will lose the ability to fly,
And everything I knew will have been a vision.