>>I like this quite a bit, especially the imagery in the stanza that begins "The secessionists".<<

I'm happy to hear that! There are a bunch more poems already in the series. I was really amused to see "Lacuna" as a prompt since that's the name of their territory.

>> I'm curious, is It is not a place, but people intended to be a Bujold reference? <<

Not deliberately, no; but she is a favorite writer of mine.