By Jeffrey James Higgins
Published September 27, 2019
This month’s poem is by Jeffrey James Higgins, a former police officer and retired DEA supervisory special agent. He wrote the poem after observing people walking the streets of Manhattan – a shining city in a country with unparalleled abundance, freedom and protection – yet so many complain about trivial inconveniences and unintended slights. It occurred to Jeffrey that law enforcement officers possess knowledge of true evil and the threats that exist without the protection of the law. The poem, Knights in Blue, acknowledges the moment when people understand the root dangers inherent in nature and how their perception of police changes in an instant.
KNIGHTS IN BLUE
Adults naïve as young children,
unaware of evil forbidden.
Safe in homes their parents provide,
oft offended they almost cry.
Living a fantasy of rights
where danger seldom lurks at night.
All people are moral and kind,
aegis existing in their minds.
Looking down at knights in blue,
demeaning those of daring do.
Low-class servants earning far less,
all racist, brutish, and brainless.
But when nightmares arrive at night
their minds go black in fight or flight.
Invading the haven of their lives,
stark reality soon arrives.
Peril strikes – a slap to the face,
around they search for an embrace.
Terrified of the world they moan,
runaway children all alone.
Metamorphosis in their minds,
champions rise to meet the evil kind.
Police transforming from near zero,
in a flash become superheroes.
Before the devil threatens your all,
thank the brave who answer the call.