Green Pawns

The lines were drawn

Thick and crude

Across a field with faces

Poised on either side-

Little visible difference

Between each-

A belief that one was better

The other weaker,

A list of categories

Of strengths created-

Boxes checked and applied

To define each group-

The most fit eagerly at the line

Standing with pride and rapture

Intent on showing their capabilities

Their power

Over the other side-

Not knowing they have checked the same boxes

And hold the same crown-

While in the background

Confused faces glance at one another

Fingers knotting as hands are held

And worries rise-

A whisper that becomes a mental chant

We are them

They are us

The sounds lost

In the war cry of a family

Not knowing

It is their own blood

They spill upon the battlefield

For cameras and spectators

Entertainment of the fallen

As wine glasses toast

And members of the elite cheer

Bringing disruption and divide

To a country

That could overthrow

If unity filled hearts

Instead of social constructs.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet. novelist, and freelance journalist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

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