Bombing at Modernity

[deckardcanine]

We’ve all seen a lot of cartoons in which bombs
Are rotund and most frequently black,
But most works that aren’t animations don’t go there,
Unless they’re set centuries back.

The orb shape was meant to be aerodynamic
For shooting right out of a mortar.
(I don’t know the name for the bomb; with few sources
At hand, I’m a shallow reporter.)

The bombs bursting in air in “The Star-Spangled Banner”
No doubt were the spherical kind.
Were fuses exposed? I get different responses
From each of the sites I could find.

The last big American war to use round bombs
Was that between states long ago.
Today they’re just useful for visual shorthand
So viewers can instantly know.