National Poetry Writing Month - April 6, 2014

Almost a whole week into this and I think I'm getting the hang of it. This one will be about friends that I haven't seen in about 20 years, but will be reuniting with this summer. It's a trip that I am looking forward to very much.

...And It Feels So Good

So see these men and women again is something that 

I never thought would happen. 

Brothers and sisters in arms

From my youth. My glory days gone past

Technology keeps us connected

Up to date and in the know

With the wives and husbands and children

But thousands of real miles separate us all

Vacations could be made

For one on one meetings and reminiscing

To sit on porches or in restaurants

And laugh and remember the good time

And the bad times as well

We weren't always as wise as we are now

Then, we were young and brash

Headstrong, if not smart

But vacations are fleeting and short

Like this one will ultimately be

Only a few days to say hello

And then it's goodbye again

For who knows how long

Before we see each other in the real world

I am looking forward to seeing them all again

Even if for only a small while

National Poetry Writing Month - April 5, 2014

It's Saturday, and for most folks that means a day off. Not for me, and my fellow officers. We work more often than the postal carriers. Every day, all weather, light or dark.

ENDO

The day on the calendar is meaningless to me

Monday. Thursday. Sunday. Saturday

In my mind, it's Day 1. Or 2. Or 3. Or 4.

Everyday. No Days Off

That's when I work. It doesn't matter that it's

A birthday. A holiday. Or any day

For me it's Day 1. Or 2. Or 3.Or 4.

Everyday. No Days Off

While family is at home, or occasionally out with friends

I more often than not am at work.

On Day 1. Or 2. Or 3. Or 4.

Everyday. No Days Off

This is the life of the police. 

A sacrifice of time spent with wife, husband, or child.

Because of Day 1. Or 2. Or 3. Or 4.

Everyday. No Days Off.

National Poetry Writing Month - April 4, 2014

Nothing says classic poetry like the one and only sonnet. A standard for Shakespeare and countless others for centuries. This is the first of what I'm sure will be many more this month.

NaPoWriMo Sonnet #1

With the wind howling outside of my door

I sit and I stare at the blank screen

The dog shifts roughly and lets out a snore

While the blank white page stares back at me. Clean

As a drift of the snow that has melted

And as harsh as the cold piercing draft

The spring time rain on my windows have pelted

Giving a rhythm to my typing craft

I see trees bending under the force of the gale

As I sit warm and snug in my room

Shielded away from the gray sky so pale

The color of wintertime's fading gloom

Green is returning to the ground and the sky

And summer will be upon us by and by

National Poetry Writing Month - April 3, 2014

It's already tough, and it's only day three! Sometimes the words flow, and sometimes they are stuck. When that happens I just relax and see what happens.

Day Three Haikus

The words come and go

My ideas ebb and flow

Oceans of poems

To the end of this

I will see it all the way

April is not long

A pinpoint of light

The tunnel is not so long

Thirty days of art

National Poetry Writing Month - April 2, 2014

Yesterday at work, I fell for an April Fool's prank by my coworker. Later that evening, it was no prank when we responded to a call for service.

Battered, Bruised, and Bitten

Sitting in a quiet restaurant with my wife

Recapping the events of the afternoon; all seemed well

Then, a crackle of static in my ear

Those infamous words "I'll be right back"

Rarely is that promise kept; to be "right back"

Lights on, siren blaring to clear a path to trouble

Running towards the unknown

Screaming and then silence from 911

She was underneath him, father restraining daughter

Daughter by court order; her troubled past made blood parents a memory

When she was released from his confines, she bolted

Ran past my partner and out the back door

As he followed, I found her on the side of the house

Out the front door and in some bushes

Screaming. Crying. Angry. Vicious

I tried to reason with her; to calm her. She wanted none of it

Safety is our priority; handcuffs came out. 

Seeing the glint of steel, she tried to run again

This time, caught in my grip; my fist entangled in her clothing

She wheeled towards me with anger in her eyes

The fight was on and I didn't intend to lose

It started as a pushing/pulling match and ended in the mud

My hands clawing for hers, to put on bracelets for the bad

I felt her shoes in my back; my side; my head

Cuffed at hand and foot, she became calmer

Funny how not being able to move will do that

I spoke with the guardians; they were hurt but not injured

Scratches and bites on faces and hands; and hearts

They were calm despite the storm in their yard

We spoke briefly and then off to jail we drove

I took a different route to gather my thoughts

And catch my breath for a possible round two

She was docile, more or less, as she hobbled to the door

Giving me dirty looks and evil eyes

She was jolted back to reality when she was reminded

That I was the older; the bigger; the stronger; the meaner

My second fight wasn't with her, but the state

No record; only 19; no problem

And no charges for battering an officer

I had forgotten what you can get away with when you're young

Printed, photoed and processed

And off to big girl jail, where they don't care what your problems are

Or were. Now you're a number in their system

Their problem for the night

Reports and papers finished and filed

We shook hands and reassured ourselves that we were okay

He went to his home and family, and I to mine

To rest, recover and return to the next fight the next day

National Poetry Writing Month - April 1, 2014

I'm going to give this a crack. I once had a go at National Novel Writing Month a few years ago and was successful at completing it. It wasn't easy to crank out 50,000 words in a month but I was mostly happy with the end result. And to that end, when I found out that there was a poetry one in a similar vein, I knew I had to try that one out as well. So, here is my first entry for NaPoWriMo. Wish me luck.

One A Day, No Vitamins

What makes me think that I'm up to the task

That I can rattle my brain every day?

How do I intend to reach in and to ask

If I've got any words to say?

Should I go with the flow

And let it all out? Should I stick to a meter and beat?

Or should I come up with a theme for every one

Wouldn't that be just too neat.

I think that I'll surely give it my best

I'll put the words to the screen and then post

And at the end of the month I can say without jest

That in April I had reason to boast.

February 11, 2014 - 1100

My work schedule is sometimes hectic. As a shift worker, I am officially assigned to work 3pm to 11pm. However, as the police that can change at a moments notice. And lately it's been at a point where we as a department have been working 12 hour shifts, some more often than not. Even myself, as the supervisor and one who does the scheduling, this means making some folks unhappy with my decisions. I am not one to shrink from my own responsibility as an officer either. I work the 12 hour shifts just like every other officer in the department. It takes a toll on a persons sleeping pattern, eating habits, exercise routine, and family life. These are a few lines on my own thoughts about extra work.

Sometimes Money Isn't Worth The Cost

While the money is always good

And appreciated when the time comes

The times missed with my wife and dog

Are not measured in dollars and cents

I am not worried about the lost sleep

While I am out on the road patrolling

It's the time lost with my family at home

Worried about me that's precious and gone

The pup remembers me when I come home

Whether it's midnight or four in the morning

My wife sleeps a fitful sleep when I'm not there

When I am out making the city safe for strangers

Every hour, minute, second that I am over

I am under pressure, self-induced, to make a difference

There is no pressure to do anything but be there

But I am more than just a body in a car

Crawling the streets, I am more than a uniform

In a gaudily decorated automobile; standing out in the dark

I am standing out in the dark to keep

Bad guys at bay, and so that good people can sleep

Even when my wife, at home alone, can't sleep well until I am there with her.