1. A member of the Free Syrian Army sits on a sofa in the middle of a debris-strewn street in Deir al-Zor, Syria, on April 2, 2013.

While much of the world's attention focuses on a possible war with North Korea, the war currently being fought in Syria grinds on. March of 2013 was a month of grim milestones in Syria. It marked two years since the start of hostilities; the number of war refugees passed one million; and it was was the bloodiest month to date, with more than 6,000 people killed. Neither the pro-Assad forces, nor the group of rebels opposing them have gained much ground recently, and little or no progress has been made by international agencies to halt the bloodshed. The following photographs come from across Syria, taken over the past six weeks, showing just some of the devastation in Aleppo, Deir al-Zor, Homs, Deraa, Idlib, and Damascus.

2. Damaged buildings in Jouret al-Shayah, Homs, Syria, on February 2, 2013.

3. People walking down a street are pictured through a hole in a building in Deir al-Zor, on April 4, 2013.

4. A Syrian opposition fighter rubs dust from his face in the Jabilleh neighborhood of the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, during clashes with regime forces as they try to retake the area on February 16, 2013.

5. A resident inspects the damages at an ancient Souk caused by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Deir al-Zor, on March 9, 2013.

6. A woman wearing a scarf depicting the Syrian opposition flag walks in the damaged areas in Deir al-Zor, on March 3, 2013.

7. A group of Syrian Free Army activists inspect a damaged mosque at the Sheikh Yassine district area in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, on February 16, 2013.

8. People walk on a street lined with buildings damaged by what activists said were missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Deir Al-Zor, on March 12, 2013.

9. A burning tank is in Daraa, on March 9, 2013.

10. People inspect damaged areas in Deir al-Zor, on March 3, 2013.

11. A Syrian street vendor who sells cigarette boxes, sits in front of destroyed shops which were damaged by the shelling of the Syrian forces, at Maarat al-Nuaman town, in Idlib province, on February 26, 2013. Syrian rebels battled government troops near a landmark 12th century mosque in the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, while fierce clashes raged around a police academy west of the city, activists said.

12. Vehicles burn near a crater on a road after an explosion in central Damascus, on February 21, 2013. Syrian state media blamed what it said was a suicide bombing on "terrorists" battling President Bashar al-Assad.

13. In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, injured Syrians sit on the ground while flames and smoke rise from burned cars after a huge explosion that shook Damascus, on February 21, 2013.

14. A view of a damaged building in Houla, near Homs, on March 14, 2013.

15. A boy holds a bicycle near debris and damaged buildings in Homs, on March 25, 2013.

16. Destroyed buildings and streets filled with debris in Homs, on February 19, 2013.

17. Damaged cars are piled up, used as cover from snipers in the Khaldiyeh area of Homs, on February 19, 2013.

18. A boy takes a picture of his friend who gestures from the top of a damaged building in Deir al-Zor, on April 4, 2013.

19. A mirror stands inside an old damaged house in Homs, on March 16, 2013.

20. Destroyed buildings along streets filled with debris in Homs, on February 19, 2013.

21. A view of damaged buildings on Abu al-Hol street, Homs, on February 2, 2013.

22. (1 of 3) Nihal, 9, in the entrance of an underground Roman tomb used as shelter from Syrian government forces shelling and airstrikes, at Jabal al-Zaweya, in Idlib province,on February 28, 2013. Across northern Syria, rebels, soldiers, and civilians are making use of the country's wealth of ancient and medieval antiquities to protect themselves from Syria's two-year-old war.

23. (2 of 3) Sami (center) speaks with his children in an underground Roman tomb which he uses with his family as shelter from Syrian government forces, at Jabal al-Zaweya, in Idlib province, on February 28, 2013. The ancient sites are built of thick stone that has already withstood centuries, and are often located in strategic locations overlooking towns and roads.

24. (3 of 3) Sobhi al-Hamod, 60, lives with his family in an underground cave used for shelter from Syrian government forces in Idlib province, on February 28, 2013.

25. A painting of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad riddled with bullet holes, on the facade of the police academy in Aleppo, after it was captured by Free Syrian Army fighters, on March 4, 2013.

26. Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire at a factory after what activists say was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at al-Haidariah area in Aleppo, on February 8, 2013.

27. An excavator is used to search for casualties under the rubble at a site hit by what activists said was a Scud missile in Aleppo's Ard al-Hamra neighborhood, on February 23, 2013. Rockets struck eastern districts of Aleppo, Syria's biggest city, killing at least 29 people and trapping a family of 10 in the ruins of their home, activists in the city said.

28. A damaged car in rubble in Al-Ansari neighborhood after what activists said was a missile attack by Syrian Air Forces in Aleppo, on February 3, 2013.

29. Inside a damaged mosque in Aleppo, on March 10, 2013.

30. A Syrian woman sits on the ruins of her house, which was destroyed in an airstrike by government warplanes a few days earlier, killing 11 members of her family, in the neighborhood of Ansari, Aleppo, on February 6, 2013.

31. The wreckage of a helicopter, belonging to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, near Menagh military airport in Aleppo, on March 2, 2013.

32. Burned and damaged buildings in the Sheikh Maksoud area of Aleppo, on April 3, 2013.

33. Damaged buildings, after air force shelling in the Karam Al-Tarrab neighborhood near Aleppo International Airport, on February 15, 2013.

34. A Syrian rebel takes position behind a makeshift barricade during clashes with regime forces in the Salaheddine district of Aleppo, on March 16, 2013.

35. In this Tuesday March 19, 2013, citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center AMC which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, black smoke rises from buildings due to government forces shelling, in Aleppo.

36. Damaged buildings in the Jdeideh district of Aleppo, on February 20, 2013.

37. A Syrian man fumigates a street covered with uncollected garbage in the northern city of Aleppo, on March 24, 2013.

38. A child stands on the remnants of a destroyed military vehicle in front of a damaged building in Al Inzarat district of Aleppo, on February 17, 2013.

Un poema de Celaya entre las ruinas de Siria

Alepo, Deir al-Zor, Homs, Deraa, Idlib, Damasco… Ciudades destrozadas en un país cargado de muerte y horror. Sobre sus ruinas, un grito de esperanza con un poema de Gabriel Celaya: Porque vivimos a golpes, porque apenas si nos dejan decir que somos quien somos…

Cuando ya nada se espera personalmente exaltante,
mas se palpita y se sigue más acá de la conciencia,
fieramente existiendo, ciegamente afirmando,
como un pulso que golpea las tinieblas

Cuando se miran de frente
los vertiginosos ojos claros de la muerte,
se dicen las verdades:
las bárbaras, terribles, amorosas crueldades.

Se dicen los poemas
que ensanchan los pulmones de cuantos, axfisiados,
piden ser, piden ritmo,
piden ley para aquello que sienten excesivo.

Con la velocidad del instinto,
con el rayo del prodigio,
como mágica evidencia, lo real se nos convierte
en lo idéntico a sí mismo.

Poesía para el pobre, poesía necesaria
como el pan de cada día,
como el aire que exigimos trece veces por minuto,
para ser y en tanto somos, dar un sí que glorifica.

Porque vivimos a golpes, porque apenas si nos dejan
decir que somos quien somos,
nuestros cantares no pueden ser sin pecado un adorno.
Estamos tocando el fondo.

Maldigo la poesía concebida como un lujo
cultural por los neutrales
que, lavándose las manos, se desentienden y evaden.

Maldigo la poesía de quien no toma partido hasta mancharse.

Hago mías las faltas. Siento en mí a cuantos sufren
y canto respirando.

Canto, y canto, y cantando más allá de mis penas
personales, me ensancho.

Quisiera daros vida, provocar nuevos actos,
y calculo por eso con técnica, qué puedo.

Me siento un ingeniero del verso y un obrero
que trabaja con otros a España en sus aceros.

Tal es mi poesía: poesía-herramienta
a la vez que latido de lo unánime y ciego.

Tal es, arma cargada de futuro expansivo
con que te apunto al pecho.

No es una poesía gota a gota pensada.

No es un bello producto. No es un fruto perfecto.

Es algo como el aire que todos respiramos
y es el canto que espacia cuanto dentro llevamos.

Son palabras que todos repetimos sintiendo
como nuestras, y vuelan. Son más que lo mentado.