A WALL OF HEROES
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 In the month of May, all over America, there are memorial observances
honoring police officers who lose their lives in the line of duty. This observance was
decreed by the late President John F. Kennedy, our Commander-in-Chief, who was himself
killed in the line of duty.In New York, representatives of police agencies gather from all over
the state at the State of New York Police Officers Memorial that stands in a beautiful
sunken garden at the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza. It is a wall of
polished black granite engraved with the names of all the deceased officers. The state's
Governor rededicates the wall on that day and the names of officers who died over the
past year are added.Some years ago, a group of retired police officers asked me to write
a poem for Police Memorial Day. With our monument in mind, I came up with this:POLICE MEMORIAL DAY We're gathered here, we comrades all To write more names upon the wall; Observing, as we do each May, The rite we call Memorial Day. There's prayers and tears and skirling pipes And color guards with stars and stripes. All somber stand the cops in ranks While firing squads fire rounds of blanks. 'Cross every badge a band of black To mourn all they who won't come back. With tightened throat and gritted teeth We watch as someone lays a wreath. And someone rises, words to say 'Bout why we all are here today. It's courage in the face of death; And loyalty 'til dying breath. It's families and what families hear When death cuts short a cop's career. Another spring's begun to bloom. The sun has banished winter's gloom. Again, we gather, comrades all. Again, write names upon the wall. Reflect, good people, on the cost Each time that lives like these are lost. And think of us who do this work; Who carry on and never shirk. A labor, you could say, of love Inspiring deeds beyond, above Our obligation to duty's call Though our names, too, might grace the wall. Go To TABLE OF CONTENTS  Questions? E-mail Us! CONSTANTINE'S CIRCUS, INC. PO Box 7223 Capitol Station Albany, NY 12224-0223 518-465-4413 518-465-3200 FAX |
