wherever crime may be,
As I walk the darkened streets alone,
let me be close to Thee.
Please give me understanding
with both the young and old.
Let me listen with attention
until their story's told.
Let me never make a judgement
in a rash or callous way,
but let me hold my patience,
let each man have his say.
Lord, if some dark and dreary night,
I must give up my life.
Lord, with your understanding love,
protect my children and wife.
A cut above the rest,
That's A POLICE OFFICER'S WIFE,
rating her the best.
How many goodbyes are whispered,
joined with a fond embrace?
As duty steals her man,
for the danger he must face.
How often have meals been ruined,
or tender moments disturbed,
by a call for a special duty,
sparking loyalty unswerved?
It's a devil of a job,
for an angel like this,
Who, for the love of her man,
must forsake that kiss.
She can run a garden tractor,
even paint a room in need,
How she can stretch a dollar-
is a miracle indeed.
She's a mother, lover,
chauffeur, and nurse,
A living symbol of:
"for better or for worse."
Rich is the man,
reaping his rewards in life,
who chose to be the other half of
A POLICE OFFICER'S WIFE.
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining.
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, Policeman.
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To my Church have you been true?"
The policeman squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord I guess I ain't,
Because those of us who carry badges
Can't always be a Saint.
I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my work was rough,
and sometimes I've been violent,
Because the streets are awfully tough.
But I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep,
I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills just got too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fear.
If you've a place for me here, Lord
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the Throne
Where the Saints had often trod.
As the policeman waited quietly,
For the judgement of his God.
"Step forward now, policeman,
You've borne your burdens well.
Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
When the Lord was creating police officers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling
around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the spec on this order?
A peace officer has to be able to run five miles through alleys in the dark,
scale walls, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not
wrinkle his uniform.
"He has to be able to sit in an undercover car all day on a stakeout, cover
a homicide scene that night, canvass the neighborhood for witnesses, and
testify in court the next day.
"He has to be in top physical condition at all times, running on black
coffee and half-eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands... no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "it's the
three pairs of eyes an officer has to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.
The Lord nodded. One pair that sees through a bulge in a pocket before he
asks, "May I see what's in there, sir?" (When he already knows and wishes
he'd taken that accounting job.) "Another pair here in the side of his head
for his partners' safety. And another pair of eyes here in front that can
look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, 'You'll be all right ma'am,
when he knows it isn't so."
"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this
tomorrow."
"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound
drunk into a patrol car without incident and feed a family of five on a
civil service paycheck."
The angel circled the model of the peace officer very slowly, "Can it
think?" she asked.
"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the elements of a hundred
crimes; recite Miranda warnings in its sleep; detain, investigate, search,
and arrest a gang member on the street in less time than it takes five
learned judges to debate the legality of the stop... and still it keeps its
sense of humor.
This officer also has phenomenal personal control. He can deal with crime
scenes painted in hell, coax a confession from a child abuser, comfort a
murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how law enforcement
isn't sensitive to the rights of criminal suspects."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the
peace officer. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were
trying to put too much into this model."
"That's not a leak," said the lord, "it's a tear."
"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.
"It's for bottled-up emotions, for fallen comrades, for commitment to that
funny piece of cloth called the American flag, for justice."
"You're a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," he said.
Anonymous
This poem is dedicated with love and respect to themen and women of Law Enforcement~ I am grateful for what you do, and this is my way of saying thank you. Be Safe~ The world is a better place because you're in it~ I only wish I could give you more for the sacrifices you make on my behalf~ Brenda
Alone he patrols the night, while the world is asleep
It's safety he is sworn to keep
He made a promise to protect and
Even though danger is around every curve
Hated and feared by the predators he stalks
Disliked and mistrusted for the job he's been taught
Some jeer at him and call him a "Pig"
as he guards the mean streets in his Black and White rig
He grits his teeth and turns the other cheek
You can't be a Cop. and let them see you are weak
Everyone he meets tells him their lies
As he looks at them with knowing eyes
There isn't much he hasn't seen
He knows nothing is ever as it seems
He listens and tries to understand
the pain inflicted by man's inhumanity to man
He is the "Last Cowboy" Standing proud, standing true
On his Black and White Pony An Angel in Blue
The one in the white hat
No matter where he is
no one really knows where he's at
Hard to love, harder to hold
as warm and as passionate, as he is cold
Courage and determination
against insanity and damnation.
He gives his job his best,
his promises he keeps
He never rests,
for crime never sleeps
He pulls into an all night diner
Dinner is usually late,
he's dead on his feet
He walks in so weary
to get something to eat
But before he had a chance to take and even breath
A call comes and he must go,
as the city is visited by death
Gang violence, drive- bys~ robberies and rape
Women beaten, dead babies in trash cans gagged with tape
>
Children killing children, 12 years olds that are armed
Every call a call of alarm
Psychos, Killers, Car thieves, and Pushers
drug dealers, addicts, a young girl the victim of torture
Every night is the same, of this he is sure
Sometimes it is more than even he can endure
Drunk drivers, victims trapped in burning, twisted steel
this is a Cop's life,
this is what's real
As screams of pain cry out for help,
he risks his life,
You say he doesn't feel?
Do you think this is right?
A teenage boy aims and fires,
to kill a Cop is the fame he aspires
The Cop fires back, not knowing who is at the other end
of the violence he's found What happens to a Cops heart,
when he has to put a child in the ground?
How does he face it? When no one else can?
No one sees the pain in his eyes
Life for him is no longer a surprise
The things that he sees each day are no longer a shock
To survive he has had to harden his heart to a rock
Or he couldn't face and fight what the rest of us fear
His eyes reflect a world's cruelty and pain, like a mirror
How do we put a price on the sacrifices he makes?
Who holds a Cop at night when he's alone and he shakes?
With the agony that he's seen, he is washed in it's blood
as his dreams are lost in a merciless flood
of the evil that men and women do
with only this Cop between it and you
He stands alone in the violence and then
sometimes he forgets where it all began
His wife has left him,
his kids are ashamed of the things people call a Cop
and for the things that he's blamed
Like it or not, he is married to the street
a shepherd that protects the sheep
He longs for a peaceful home for his heart
and now he's lost her, as they grew apart
Does anyone know cost to the soul of a Cop?
Of the things he has lost, for the things he has fought?
Does anyone care that he is a target for death?
That his courage never fails him, even as he draws his last breath?
Does anyone know the nightmares he dreams?
Who responds to a Cop when we wakes up and screams?
Who holds him and protects him and kisses him goodnight?
Does anyone care if he is all right?
Does anyone understand that if a choice had to be made
That his family, friends is the cost that he paid?
So when you see a black and white as it drives by
What would it hurt to smile and wave Hi?
To show him that you know what he gives everyday
and that you know and appreciate the price that he pays
If you get caught speeding and he stops you
Don't say "why are you harassing the one who pays your wage?"
Or you will feel his frustration and rage
Isn't he doing what your taxes pay him to do?
Remember the law he serves is also for you~
If you break the law, however small
No matter who you are, a crime is a crime after all~
He is sworn to uphold it and he doesn't have pets
For if he's behind you, you deserve what you get
It won't matter what color your skin
In the eyes of the law, a sin is a sin
The excuses you make to justify your wrong
Will be drowned out in his siren's song
He is fierce, he is strong, his heart is brave
And he will be a Cop until he goes to his grave
Honor him and the sacrifices he gives
For the quality of life you live is because of him