BENEATH THE BADGE
What lies beneath the starched_ironed shirts and the badges upon their chest?
And where do the tears flow when their hearts are broken from the tests?

So often Death will intervene, to carry out its will...But they stare Death coldly in
the face, they defy its chilling kill.

You say they lack compassion and they abuse their roles...Do you really think
they're cruel? Do you damn their very soul?

Believe me, Sir, they cry within..They choke to hold it down...So, when Death
comes to kiss their lips, they'd like to turn around.

For beneath the shirts and polished badges breathes a special breed of
being...With tear-stained hearts and eyes that cry and see what you are seeing.

But then, you - "The Public" - demand their presence; they truly give their best;
So, remember them when you kneel down to pray before you rest.

And don't forget those "Little Eyes," who wish they were home; or the "Worried
Hearts" that support them, in a battle that can't be won.

What lies beneath the badges? What makes them take the parts? What absorbs
their tears and spills their blood? Their Hearts, my man, their Hearts!

By Majot Charlie Carden