If anyone can call herself a “warrior poet,” it is Yael S. Hacohen. She draws from her experience as a soldier and lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Forces to craft this collection of poetry. The Dove That Didn’t Return investigates war, questions both violence and peace, and lives on the borders of humanity and cruelty.

The title comes from the tale of Noah’s Ark in the Bible. In a shallow reading, the dove with an olive branch in her mouth is a symbol of peace and a beacon of hope. In Hacohen’s poetry, she more critically considers the implications of the dove not returning to the Ark. What does the dove do alone on silent land? What kind of peace is it with no other life around? Who has to clean up after every war? But, the dove is not alone. As Hacohen writes, “The dove didn’t have the world to herself.”

You will like this collection of poetry if you are well read on the Bible and are interested in the realities of trying to live peacefully in a consistently war-torn world.