I'm just a man
I have been where you fear to be,
I have seen what you fear to see,
I have done what you fear to do,
All these things I have done for you.

I am the man that you lean upon,
The man you cast your scorn upon,
The man you bring your troubles too,
All these things I have been for you.

The man you ask to stand apart,
The man you feel should have no heart,
The one you call the man in blue,
But I'm just a man, a man like you.

And through the years I've come to see,
That I am not what you ask of me,
So take this badge and take this gun,
Will you take it? Will anyone?

And when you watch a person die,
Or hear a battered baby cry,
Then do you think that you could be,
All those things you ask of me?

First he takes the oath.
Now look at all he takes -

He takes it in his 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 deserve.
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 children 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.

love the avatar man wow - so cool!

love the poem thing, I might even print it out and put it in my bathroom in a frame, or perhaps give it to my sergeant for xmas.

Awesome read, Damn thing brought a tear to my eye.

Yes i really loved it when I saw it. Spot on really