Farewell To Feathers Poem by Joe Rosochacki

It was an earl mornin’,
- where the M-1 tanks are made
There was an invasion of the airborne type descended in to the city of Warren
They took the government by surprise and General Dynamics could not explain,
Why they would a high security zone, were their white feathers some sort of disguise?
The call went out to test the firepower of the tanks, a warning was issued,
To the staff,
To be prepared for the upcoming blasts,
Soldiers donned the military armor uniforms complete with goggles and masks.
The Commies would see defeat by the most sophisticated mobile armor of the Yanks,
Not only did the gulls have the gall to invade, they decided to breed.
The test track is what they felt would be a safe place from predators,
Just what they would need to mate so that more eggs could be laid.
The guns were pointed at the flock of birds and fired upon; the birds had no chance,
Some were splattered beyond recognition, and then the tanks rolled in to control
The condition by artificial birth control means by rolling over the eggs and the chicks.
(As the writer of this verse can I interject a question if I may?
I wonder if Patton or Rommel started this way?)
The tanks with the weight of many a ton, Farewell to Feathers, Goodbye, Goodbye,
Jonathan Livingston.
The war was waged and temporarily won, but the seagulls will return to the nesting,
Place where they biologically yearn, when will ever learn?
One could only speculate on what the government thinks and does,
Maybe the top brass though that if the M-1 worked well against seagulls,
It should work against the Libyans, Iranians, and Sadinistas.

(9-1988)