POETRY:  Deterrence

by Khaled Nusseibeh

Deterring the Sword
But for the benevolence and mercy of God
Nuclear holocaust would have engulfed all

An age where two mighty empires
Faced each other with mortal threat

Stockpiles upon stockpiles
Of terrible weapons directed at humanity

Two superpowers armed to the teeth
Threatening mutually assured destruction

Large populations were held hostage
To a mindless snowballing arms race

A monumental glacier gradually melted
With the demise of the Soviet regime

Replaced by a new ideology, a new orientation
Substantially decreasing world instability

Sagacious statesmanship crafted solutions
To seemingly intractable problems

Specifying survival as of paramount importance
And making the necessary concessions and compromises

The art of the possible animated a process
That continues to be far from consummated

A world freed from the dark shadow of nuclear holocaust
An irrational, mindless option for all

Indeed, the yearning is for a world
Free from the hanging sword of horrible annihilation

A planet guarded by the logic of peace
And a collective commitment to global survival