the deaths of empires

Potempkin army, bogged down in the mud,
presents a turkey-shoot for Lend/Lease planes.
To supplement indigenous red blood,
the West's been swift to rally 'round Ukraine.
The facile victory that Putin craved
to pump his mythos up in Russians' eyes,
was just a phantom conjured in his cave,
among the close cabal who draft his lies.
Already, Moscow mothers want to know
why darlingVanya lies so wan and still.
If there's to be a fight, she knows the foe
sits at his desk, commanding those who kill.
The Staatsbund Kant had hoped would end all war
looks urgent like it rarely has before.