The Call

He stood the silence and solemn wake,
upon the night’s litter strewn street,
clutter’s aftermath of high school
homecoming celebration
that erupted in chaos after illegal beer party.

So hard to curb his policeman’s night stick,
when drunken teenagers lost control.

But a father’s heart filled with love
was a shield for his soul,
never veering from remembering
the badge and law,
which he vowed to uphold.

How irony nearly buckled his knees,
because of all the streets
where he could be sent,
did he really have to be this one?

For his mind still stings with grief
over his son’s death
on this very concrete,
killed by a drunk driver.

Oh how it ripped at his gut,
remembering his son
had been the team’s star athlete,
knowing they lost to their opponents
whose leader had been the child of the drunk driver.

Years of law enforcement and noble sense of duty
kept him from giving up,
having a faith in God preserved his will,
imagining his son now on Heaven’s football field,
it was another way his courage and conviction
overcame the trials of life,
just like his refusal to let this prejudice destroy
a sense of pride in his heritage
winning that battle over hate,
summoning the courage to serve equality
even to the ones who had only treated him unjustly.