"The Hawk Who Became a Dove" by Hal Sirowitz*

Most people start off supporting

their country's war efforts,

Father said, but as soon as someone

close to them gets drafted

they suddenly change their tune

& begin to question their government.

Your friend's father was a hawk.

When his son received a draft notice

he became a dove. Instead of swooping down

on anyone opposed to the war he

started to do lots of cooing. He's

easier to listen to now, because he

isn't always ruffling someone's feathers.

It's a shame that he needed the possibility

of his son's death to improve his personality.



*Breaking my "no Soft Skull biz on the blog" rule to say that one of my most enjoyable jobs of the moment has been preparing Hal's new manuscript Father Said. It's coming out in June, just in time for Father's Day, of course.