Gambit

Gambit in chess is an opening move : the player sacrifices a pawn to gain some kind of advantage to win the game. Gambit in real life requires similar sacrifices. Life — and love — are full of risks. Sometimes we win; sometimes we lose. The important thing is to keep playing.

The 26 poems in Gambit reveal the ways that the gambit has paid off or not, but always the game of life — and love — must go on. Laughter, trust, tears, hope, honesty, love and faith are the key elements for success in each arena. To live fully and to love fully, each act demands a gambit, which is also a gamble.

There is a timeless quality to life when it is lived during moments that feel free and unknown. The sensation is eternity in a moment. It is rich and ripe and open to chance, just like the moments after the roll of the dice. The waiting game of the gambit begins . . . life lived without regret is the only way to win in life and in love.

The author, Debra Tanis Milligan, offers these poems to the reader as chances to see life, and love, even destiny — in winning ways.