Shall I compare thee to taut yarn?
Your tense relations stretching back
To ninety-four when all troubles were foreign
And Afghans weren’t under attack.
Pompeo rushes to the Middle East
To test the tensions of a tepid ally
That begins to boil in the desert heat
Among peace talks that have fallen by.
The Secretary aims to stop the fight
By pressing Ghani to put in ink
His contempt to win outright,
To give the Taliban a seat.

For months we have witnessed this act
Understanding we’ll never get back.