Thin Blue Line

Thin Blue Line

I’m the one you call for help,
the calm, measured one, 
listening always, 
I’m there looking for lost ones, treading through scrubland, woods, ditches, 
Walking miles upon miles until stitches in the stomach try to stop me, but….I don’t

I won’t give up, it’s my duty to pound these streets, 
to intervene when chaos erupts, until the fighting depletes
and peace replaces discord 

I’m the one who’ll see your loved ones injured, dying, dead, sometimes they are young, too young for my head to cope, but I cope. I take those images home, my brain immersed in horrors of life as I sit quietly on my own. 

I’m the one who sits in rooms with the criminals I want to shield you from, banging cells and hateful yells rain over me…but I take it because I’m duty bound to block out the sounds of disorder 

I’m the one who never knows if my shift will be my last, will I face a knife or gun that will blast my heart into pieces and tear my family apart as my life ceases to be 

I’m the one who you’ll spit in the face then ask me to help your friend in need, 
a punch to my face, dripping red as I bleed onto my uniform, 
dealing with this from dusk until dawn

I’m the one who made an oath to my sovereign and country to never betray your trust, 
to hold myself and others accountable to make every decision just…. & fair. 

I’m the one who wouldn’t have it any other way. The days are long and although I sacrifice my family time and time again to make this a better place for yours and mine,
this job, this vocation…runs through my veins and binds my heart with an eternal thin blue line