The Chin Comm Hand Grenade

I showed my master sergeant
what an NVA soldier threw at me,
and he told me it was just
another dud Chin Comm grenade.

He said 75% of them fail.
The Chinese make them
and supply NVA regulars
with them. Can you imagine
fighting with such a lousy product?

Then he takes the grenade,
removes three pins, shakes
the powder on the floor,
and throws the blasting cap
against the wall where
it makes a loud bang.

I'm like shitting in my pants
while he's doing all this.
He just puts it back together,
hands it to me, and tells me
I have a souvenir from the war.
Then he trots off like it was nothing.

I packed it in a large tape recorder
and sent it home. They didn't check
in those days like they do today.
Look, here's a picture of it.
I forgot about it and just found
it again in a pile of my old junk.