"Who am I"

I am a human
With blood of blue,
I am honor bound
With a duty to you.

I am a son
To a wonderful mother,
I am a husband
To a wonderful wife.

I am a father
If I manage to get day shift,
I am a dad
If I can find the extra lift.

I am a friend
When I can lend a hand,
I am a "sorry s.o.b."
When I put you in the can.

I am driving too fast
If you don't know where I'm going,
I am driving too slow
If you are waiting, not knowing.

I am your hero
If and when I arrive,
I am already forgotten
If I don't survive.

Carl W. Carico  3-2-00

I, just like many, have chosen a profession of law enforcement!  I am a COP.  I am proud of what I do.

I have made this page to share some of my favorite poems with you.  Most if not all are law enforcement oriented.  The only one I have written is the one above and  I can not nor am I trying to take credit for any others listed here.  I will give credit to the author when I can and if I don't and you know the author please email me with the information so that they may receive credit for their work.

For all those of you out there that wear a badge; Be careful, watch your back and may God Bless!  For all those that don't; Before bed, put an extra word in for us all!

This first poem was sent to me by the author in my email.  I think this one is espically good because, so often we write poems to reflect on a negitave situtation.  This poem is positively written to reflect on a positive outcome.  Thanks Larry for helping me continue to make this site a better and more positive place.

This is another I wrote in honor of an officer in my
department that happened while I was dispatching. It
is a true story and he received a citation and award
from the City of Plainview.  His devotion is evident
as you can tell.  If you wish, please add it to your
page:

 Officer Angel

To the city, he was a cop......
To his friends he was Mike......
To a woman he'd never met.....
He'd become an angel that night.......

It was now finally Friday.....
The end of the week.....
Last night was a memory.....
Now rest he would seek.....

He made one last round.....
Just to make sure all was right......
What happened to him next......
Became a very long night......

As he rounded the corner......
He never saw the mother appear....
But held in her arms.....
Was a child she held near.....

She was crying and screaming.....
Her sounds were so loud........
The baby wasn't breathing......
And she needed help now.....

He jumped from his car.......
And pulled the child close to him....
Feeling a faint heartbeat......
The child became his......

Working so fast.......
He helped the child breath....
By performing CPR......
Between mother's screams.......

He cried on the radio.....
"Send me some help please"......
"I need an ambulance now!"
"I'm on West 16th, at the east end of town"

The ambulance arrived.........
As fast as they could....
And as they came close......
In the street, Officer Mike and child stood.....

He passed them the child.......
And they flew out of sight......
It was then that he realized......
That poor mothers fright.......

When his shift finally ended.....
To his home he arrived.....
His wife simply greeted him.....
And he squeezed her so tight......

He walked to the bedroom......
And cradled this one.....
Just like he had.....
With his "other" new son.......

Roche Larry

To Honor All
who proudly serve

 Who cries for the COP...
Walking his beat.
Down a mean street..
Where violent men hold sway..
Where life is cheap...
And Death doth keep..
His tally day by day..
Who cried for the cop..
When assault is made..
With flashing blade..
And guns that shatter the night..
And scanners sound...
Of "Officer down !"
Tells of his helpless plight...
Who cries for the cop...
When ambulance wail.
Tells a mournful tale...
Bringing tears to a widow's eyes...
Who gives a damn..
When triggers slam...
And a brave policemen dies?
Who cries for the cop...
With bloodstained shield...
As life doth yield...
And his labored heartbeats stop?
Tell me true... I'm asking YOU...
Who cares ? Who cries for the COP?
Written by:

Thomas Cannon

from Richmond, Va

The policeman stood and faced his God,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, I guess I ain't because those of us who carry a badge

can't always be a Saint."

I've had to work most Sundays

and at times my talk is 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...

though I worked a lot of overtime when the bills got to 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 a silence all around the throne where the Saints had often trod.

As the policeman waited quietly for the judgment of his God.

"Step forward now, policeman.

You've borne you burdens well.

Come walk a beat on Heaven's streets.

You've done your time in Hell"

(Author Unknown )

POLICE OFFICERS
PRAYER

Lord, I ask for courage-
Courage to face and conquer my own fears...
Courage to take me where others will not go...

I ask for strength-
Strength of body to protect others,
and strength of spirit to lead others...

I ask for dedication-
Dedication to my job, to do it well,
Dedication to my community, to keep it safe...

Give me, Lord, concern for those who trust in me,
and compassion for those who need me...
And please, Lord, through it all, be at my side...
 
 

Are those that walk a Thin Blue Line, that's a given.

Like Guardian Angels to watch over me and you,

Are those that wear the uniform of blue.

We see them only as traffic stops,

We do not call them friends, just cops.

We pray we never have a chance meeting,

We never pass along a greeting.

But they are so much more than this,

They simply do not see the world as bliss.

But they look into the corners of our deepest fears,

They walk the beat, they wipe a tear.

They bring a message to our home,

When all is not well, and you are alone.

They come to us, no matter the need,

Handle the problem, complete the deed.

They lay their personal feelings aside,

They do their job, they have great pride.

And if one should fall, among life's things.

The badge they wear, turns into wings.

copywriter

Katherine Raborn

1999

I said, "Your court house is kinda run down,
He said, "No, it will do for our little town".

I said "your old flag pole kinda leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hanging on it".

He said "have a seat", so I sat down,
He said, "is this your first visit to our little town"

I said, "I think it is" He said "I donut like to brag,
but were kinda proud of "That Ragged Old Flag"

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.

It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key
sat watching it, writing "Oh Say Can You See"

It got a rip in New Orleans,
with Packingham & Jackson tugging at its seams.

It almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag, But she waved on tho.

It got cut with a sword in Chancellorsville,
Got cut again at Shiloh Hill.

There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on "That Ragged Old Flag"

On Flanders Field in World War I,
She took a bad hit from a Bertha Gun.

She turned blood red in World War II,
She hung limp and low by the time that one was through.

She was in Korea and in Vietnam,
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.

The Native Americans, The Black, Yellow and White
All shed red blood for the Stars and Stripes.

And here in her own good land, She's been abused,
burned, dishonored, denied and refused.

And the very government for which she stands,
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.

And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearing kinda thin,
But she's in pretty good shape, for the shape she's in.

Cause she's been through the fire before
and she can take a whole lot more.

So we raise her up every morning and we bring her down
slow every night,
We donut let her touch the ground, And we fold her up right.

On second thought I do like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of "That Ragged Old Flag"
 

Cops on the Take

First he takes ... the oath.

Now look at all he takes:

He takes... it in stride when people call him pig.

He takes... time to stop and talk to children.

He takes... your verbal abuse while giving you a ticket you

really deserved.

He takes... on creeps you would be afraid to even look at.

He takes... time away from his family to keep you safe.

He takes... your injured child to the hospital.

He takes... the graveyard shift without complaint because it's

his turn.

He takes... his life into his hands daily.

He takes... you home when your car breaks down.

He takes... time to explain why both your headlights have to

work.

He takes... the job no one else wants--telling you a loved one

has died.

He takes ... criminals to jail.

He takes... in sights that would make you cry.

Sometimes he cries too, but he takes it anyway because

someone has to.

If he is lucky, he takes retirement.

He takes... memories to bed each night that you couldn't bear

for even one day.

Sometimes, he takes a bullet.

And yes, occasionally he may take a free cup of coffee.

Then one day he pays for all he has taken, and God takes

him.

Please remember that the "he" in all this represents all

police officers, both men and women who have served and

are serving our cities and their citizens we have all sworn to

protect.

God bless ALL cops everywhere!

(author unknown)

When God made Police Officers

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 police 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 police 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

police officer. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you

were trying to put too much into this model."

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