War by means -
not where nations play chess
flex dispensable might.
Not where metal sears flesh
in man-sized graves.

Or in hollow trenches
where the political class
bear not a crumpled tie,
unscathed from the
scourge of skirmish.

War by means -
not where children sombre,
set free kites, for frayed cotton;
carried in acrid wind
the only freedom they'll know.

Or midst crumpled towns,
where mothers weep
bleeds the river dry;
cautious sorrow
shake not the dirt
for landmines prey.

War by means -
one whose cause
cannot be sourced,
for its fire that consumes slow,
internal, across fields
where strewn roses
breathe their last.

Left to wilt,
under blackened heat;
for this unyielding ache,
unreciprocated.
My love for you,
a great conflict
- a war by other means.