A Poem - Could You Be Me

I'm just going to throw up a poem here that I wrote once. The background to it is that I started it in 2008 during a bad period in my life. I was out on sick leave from work with stress. During the same time my cousin (who was also a police officer) committed suicide. I wrote it bit by bit over the years (or rather; rewrote it) because the original version was much more graphic.

The idea of the poem is to give a glimpse at the horrors that police see and the love/hate relationship that a lot of people have with us. Everything in it is based on both my own experiences and the experiences of co-workers. I know it's a bit long, sorry.

Could you be me

There is something that troubles me.
I will tell you so very plainly.
You ask me to do my job, but when I do,
You look at me with so much hate.
You call me scum, you call me filth,
And others things that I will not repeat.

You claim that I am overpaid,
That my job is just too easy.
Well I will tell you things,
Then ask you straight;
Please answer my question honestly.
Could you ever be just like me?

So listen please, to what I say.
Then think carefully; take all day.
Ponder on the things that I do see,
Then answer this question truthfully.
Could you ever be just like me?

Have you stood and watched a child die?
Choking back tears, trying not to cry,
Praying for the ambulance to arrive,
Knowing that this child,
Will soon not be alive.

Do you know the dread and fear,
To hear that a friend has been shot?
Just because he was doing his job,
Doing a job that you will not.

Have you ever sat and listened to,
The sobs and cries of a battered wife,
A beaten child,
Scarred for life.

Have you ever been close to a body,
Dead for days that’s starting to decay?
Now do you still think that I;
I don’t earn my pay.

Have you ever knocked on a door,
In the middle of the night;
Knowing that your visit will soon bring a fright?
Knocking to tell a family, filled with dread,
That their husband, father, brother, son;
That he is now dead.

Have you ever run towards danger,
To try to help others?
Trying to help them live,
Knowing well that it’s your life,
That you might have to give.

You expect me to stand like stone,
Emotionless, heartless, all alone,
When surrounded by the dying and dead.
But not a single tear will you let me shed.

You’ve called me callous, and called me mean,
But have you witnessed all that I have seen?
If my words today have caused you upset,
I am truly sorry, please accept my regret.

I just wanted to let you see,
Just what it is, to be like me.
I have seen things that would make you weep,
I do this job so that you can sleep,
Safely in your home, safe in your bed,
Away from the horrors and the dead.

Now on my words I ask you to ponder,
Please allow your mind to wander,
Think of all this and worse things
That I dare not mention.
Did I get your full attention?

Now that you have seen,
the briefest glimpse of my world,
the hurt, the suffering and the pain,
I will ask my question yet again;
I just want you to answer honestly.
Do you still think you could be just like me?