The Cop’s Anthem

 
I found this poem posted by a commenter at a story on racist black cop-killer, Johnny Sims. It was clunky, due to several lines having too many beats, so I cut the number of syllables. I also corrected an error in subject-pronoun agreement. The version I found follows immediately after this version.

Also known as “I am the Officer,” this poem has been widely posted on the Web, mostly in law enforcement circles, but I could not find an authorial attribution anywhere.
Nicholas Stix
 

I’m Just Like You
Author Unknown

I’ve been where you fear to be;
I’ve seen what you fear to see;
I’ve done what you fear to do;
All these things I’ve done for you.

I’m the one you lean upon,
The one you cast your scorn upon,
The one you bring your troubles to,
All these things I’ve been for you.

The one you ask to stand apart,
The one you feel should have no heart,
The one you call the “man in blue”;
But I’m a person, just like you.

And through the years,
I’ve come to see,
That I’m not what you ask of me,
So take this badge, take this gun,
Will you take them? Will anyone?

And when you watch a person die
And hear a battered baby cry,
Then do you think that you can be
All these things you ask of me?


The version I read online:

I’m Just Like You
author unknown

I have been where you fear to be;
I have seen what you fear to see;
I have done what you fear to do;
All these things I have done for you.

I am the one you lean upon,
The one you cast your scorn upon,
The one you bring your troubles to,
All these things I have been for you.

The one you ask to stand apart,
The one you feel should have no heart,
The one you call the “man in blue”;
But I am a person, just like you.

And through the years,
I have come to see
That I am not what you ask of me.
So take this badge, take this gun;
Will you take it? - Will anyone?

And when you watch a person die
And hear a battered baby cry,
Then do you think that you can be
All these things you ask of me?

Thanks to Donna Arbog. Kelley, for passing this along.