Chess (Ad Astra)

Juanita Coulson

Chess (Ad Astra)

Copyright ©Juanita Coulson - All Rights Reserved
Used by permission

I, the white queen, rule Terra.
The black queen dwells out there.
I wear a gown made from Terra's green hills
She wears the stars in her hair

My king said he would conquer.
He promised to bring me the stars.
But her king wears black,
And his scepter is death:
He rules all of space beyond Mars

Man got beyond the rings
The game had barely begun
Then one night a bright new nova was seen
And I knew that my rival had won

Ad astra
Ad astra
"The stars are next!" he cried.
Ad astra
Ad astra
Man left Terra and died.

The white king's son takes his scepter.
We challenge once again.
And outward from Terra the swift silver ships
Now carry the pawns we call men.

The stars the prize of this gambit,
And from the first game we'll learn:
We'll outwit dark space;
We'll master cold death,
Conquer the stars, and return.

Man got beyond the rim.
He reached another sun.
He's brought back the glory,
He's conquered the stars --
This time the white queen has won.

Ad astra
Ad astra
The song was always the same.
Ad astra
Ad astra
This time it's man's won the game.

Outward bound, outward bound
Beyond the limits of space and time.
Outward bound,
outward bound
We're outward bound at last.