A Limited, but Serious, Response to Syria’s Sarin Use
          by Cid Wa’eeb El Sur
          “The end is where we start from.”
          —T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets, Little Gidding

Upon the heels of an Idlib chemical attack,
about five dozen Tomahawks were hurled back to back.
Like giant, hornet-robots hissing with their striking bombs,
they targeted Shayrat-Base tarmacs, depots, planes—near Homs.
This is “a wake-up call around the World,” John Bolton said,
“when countries enter [in] agreement [now] with the U.S.,
they better honor their commitments.” Russian-run Vesti
proclaimed, “This could be an event that changes history.”
“It is the end of the beginning,” John McCain opined,
“not the beginning of the end,” which will be hard to find.

 

Cid Wa’eeb El Sur is a poet who thinks about what happens in the Middle East. An intimate of Walid Céu Esber, the Arabic poet he most admires is the Syrian poet and essayist Adunis, Ali Ahmed Said Esber.

 

Ilustration © DL Polonsky

 

Bruce Wise is a regular contributor with Wise Words, a weekly column that offers the latest world perspectives from a litany of characters. Look for the latest Wise Words this coming Friday.

DL Polonsky is a Boston area artist, writer, and filmmaker. His caricatures have appeared in The Boston Herald and His written work includes the children’s book The Letter Bandits from T.B.W. Books.