Betty
By: Tom Skiens
Have you heard about Betty
She’s a bouncer from the land of ville s
The first time that I met her
Was at the bottom of an old ROK hill
The ROK’s long since departed
some wire and Betty remain
The point diddy bopped right over the top
but not Scully and Hall, what a shame
Its a hot date, our first time with Betty
She dropped ten men in a row
The eleventh in line was Zimmerman
learning things he didn’t want to know
The Zimmer Man and I
Well we got to walk the line
I be judging the size of Betty’s holes
On the radio with the Captain all the time
We be needing two choppers for the dust off
One bird can’t lift all this weight
We have two that are in no hurry
They be lined up at the pearly gate
The Zimmer Man and I
We be prancing down the line
You with the 2″ hole in the shoulder
Grab your gear and double time
Betty’s got one moaning
Another s losing his mind
And another with a face full of shrapnel
Froze up standing his place in line
The Zimmer Man and I
Doing shit we never knew
Rifling through Rucks and Pancho’s
Getting ready for dust off #2
I don’t think I like Betty
She’s a fickle bitch at best
She jumps right up, 3 feet or so
And then fuck’s you in the chest
She will blow your legs to the left
And the rest of you to the right
She will blow your balls into the next day
And posses the souls of the night
With special thanks to;
Marc Levy, Mentor, editor and widely published author.
Betty: M-16 A1 antipersonnel mine. When tripped, a Bouncing Betty jumps out of the ground 3 to 5 feet before exploding.
Villes: G.I. slang for village
land of villes: authors phrase to represent Vietnam
ROK hill: A Republic of Korea base camp built on a hill.
ROK: A feared mercenary from the Republic of Korea.
diddy bop: GI slang for walked or passed by
Linnea Coleman, Artist, Poet, Friend, says
(I’m sure I HATE the betty
THAT FOUL DESTROYER WHORE
I don’t think I was ready
for that appalling metaphor)
Steve Newton, A 4/3 69 says:
Now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about. Kick ass vet poetry, tellin’ it like it is.