Gunship Gunner



Hosmer model 5 hook hand,

wooden-club forearm,

aviation brigade

shoulder tat.



Where’d you get those?



Grenada ’83,

was a gunship gunner,

fun video game

until it wasn’t.



Bullet punched

through the fuselage,

shattered my shooting hand,



got a tourniquet on in time

to save my life.



Ah, the war forgotten,

do you regret your sacrifice

for such little gain?



No, just doing my duty

of which I’m proud,

what pisses me off was the

forced medical retirement.



Gunship gunner settles

into the cockpit

of his sailing skiff,



hook hand grasps the sheet

and sheets it in, the skiff

springs from the beach

and soars away.