In their conferences on peace, western
powers mull the trend of war, the
perfidies of foes, and gift
their allies bigger
bombs

Eastern powers reciprocate, making
fair the civil war, balancing the
equations of munitions &
keeping the killing
on an even
keel

And in the dronefields, news of western –
and of eastern – generosities quake
the streets of old Damascus,
& divided Syrian souls
shudder in
unison

(from my forth-coming collection, The Penitence of Fire)