by Andrew Grossman
At night, the army's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS)
fills the gap between the unguided Hydra-70 Rocket
and the HELLFIRE anti-tank missile in my home.
I sleep, believing that a laser sensor and guidance package
coupled with the Hydra-70 rocket will keep my family safe.
The MK66 rocket motor,
M151 10 pound high explosive fragmentation payload
and M423 point detonating fuse
are the reasons I need not take Ambien.
Compatible with any 2.75 inch rocket system,
the MK66 faces both neighbors and skyward,
a warhead more reliable than friends or fences,
programmed to enhance community relations,
providing a significantly lower cost per kill
against soft to lightly armored point targets.
Precision guidance will reduce collateral damage.
Lethal in all roles, capable of early entry in support,
the APKWS provides us single shot probability.
Andrew Grossman’s poem, “The Efficient Nurses of Florida” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. His work has been widely published and anthologized. Grossman’s new book is 100 Poems of the Iraqi Wars. He resides with his wife, Nancy Terrell, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida .