Calling all police poets! Police1’s column highlights the inspirational, moving and funny poems written by our readers.
This poem is by Deputy Steven Kidwell who told Police1, “When I first got hired as a civilian employee over 20 years ago at the Hayward Police Department in California, I watched as men and women I respected a lot went through a memorial for an on-duty incident for their friend. Years later I have become the lead bagpiper for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. I participate in many memorials. As many memorials as I have played, in front of thousands or just a handful, it’s the first one that had a profound effect.”
Email your submissions for consideration to editor@police1.com.
TO THE PEACEKEEPERS
The city sleeps a peaceful night,
Because of those in blue.
So many, completely unaware,
Of most of what they do.
Not knowing what may come,
But willing to take on the day.
Like modern knights with armor and weapon
Leading into the fray.
To battle the foes each day and night,
These modern warriors go.
Confronting the bad and helping the good,
Putting down society’s woes.
The life they lead is often hard,
They are a breed apart.
A tougher job no one will find,
Or one that takes such heart.
When any fall, whatever the case,
A deepening pall descends.
The specter they battle rears its head,
They know they depend on friends.
This universal family
Of those who wear the badge,
Have deep-running ties that do not fade,
To those who fought in the past.
We owe a debt to these that take
To this battle every day,
So we can sleep in peace each night,
While for us, they head to the fray.
In memory of the fallen brothers and sisters