AUTHOR’S NOTE: Mel seemed to think that this poem fit our guys some and asked that I post it here. This for my husband and all the other officers out there. Also I would like to thank everyone that responded to my plea

for help. A huge and I mean huge thank you goes to Steelknight (steelknight69@yahoo.com), Mary (mkdrouin@southwind.net) and Twyla Jane (twylaj@bestweb.net) for helping me do this. They helped polish

it and made it as perfect as possible. Take a bow Ladies and gentleman you deserve it!!! So without further delay here it is...

Protectors

By Sihn

Editors: Mary, Steel Knight & Twyla Jane

A Protector is a guardian whether their tribe is in a city, county or state.

A Protector is the guardian of the innocent

A Protector comes in many sizes, colors, and shapes.

But when it comes down to it their only true color is blue

And their numbers are always far to few.

For only those with uncommon valor

Step forth to accept the challenge and honor.

Guardians of the innocent, protecting them from pain,

Leaving their families day after day never knowing if it`s for the last time.

A Protector risks all: Body, mind, and soul daily

Pushing the bystander behind them and shielding them from attack

Never knowing if the one they protect was sent to put a knife in their back.

A Protector is the champion that keeps the demons at bay during the night,

Always prepared and always on call ready and willing to fight the good fight.

A hero's heart dwells within and breaks into pieces time and again,

When the all to human soul that accompanies it cries out in pain

When they are repeatedly confronted with the aftermath of crime

At the site and feel of a body whose spirit left before its time.

God made you Protectors so that we may live our life choices in freedom.

He made them to face the darkness so that we may live our lives in the sun.

God gave Protectors the mind and courage to overcome the evil they must deal with.

And He made them strong enough to carry the weight of the world on their backs.

But He did not leave them to face it alone, he gave them family and friends

to help them Along to steer them through the hazards that would try to destroy their hearts

And when their weary souls have been torn apart by things no one should have to face.

This support gives them the strength to return to the frontlines and resume their place.

For the courage and valor it takes to return day after day leaves us with a debt that we can never hope to repay.

And thanks seem hardly to be enough when faced with the choices

Protectors make

To choose a job that is 24 hours a day and accepting the risks they may be forced to take

Sacrificing time with families and friends,

Time with their children that won't come again,

Protecting their tribe regardless of time or place,

Innocents who would not exist but for their diligence and grace.

Grace granted by God to give them the love for their job and their devotion to duty

That allows them to return day after day

When the rewards are too few and the job is so dirty.

The wife of a Protector, I give you my thanks,

For a job well done and for all the risks that you take ,

And a wish that you might realize how much your actions mean,

To those who would otherwise be defenseless and left without hope and without dreams,

And that you know the gift you give us each day by returning to the fight,

Is appreciated and honored by those in whose defense you stand against the night,

And speaks of courage and greatness of heart

That cannot be measured and cannot be bought

And that earns undying gratitude from those who share your lives

And a thank you once again, from one Protector's very proud wife.

Sihn