Publisher's Synopsis
Book of poetry about police and fire from the view of a retired law enforcement officer and firefighter. Police are in the news every day, often shown in an unfavorable light. Their role as rule-keepers in society is frequently misunderstood, the officers judged too quickly by visceral emotion before facts are fully collected and revealed, or legal and procedural issues completed. This collection of poems attempts to give faces to cops, a clearer look at the challenges and responses confronting them today, their paranoia, the rationale behind decision-making, their fears and attitudes. Law enforcement personnel are put into situations where expectations are simply too high, no outcome good enough, no answer the right one, all choices debatable, leaving police vulnerable to vilification, criticism and attack. By virtue of their work, they are often exposed to events that force them to respond in crises, to make decisions that affect other people's lives. Cops respond out of duty, sometimes successful in resolving issues, sometimes not, and only on the rarest of occasions, committing some nefarious act, which other cops find just as reprehensible as would the loudest vocal critic. The entire profession doesn't deserve to be judged based on the acts of a few who step outside the bounds of their authority or law. To cover the subject of public service, it also seems appropriate to include poems about fires and firefighters. The close relationship and overlap between police and fire may not be recognized at first glance, but risks and dangers are shared by them all, the stresses and unpredictable threats as common denominators.My personal views in these poems may be tainted and show a certain bias, but no more so than opposing views. At least they are based on thirty-five years in the trenches, most of that time as city cop and federal agent, plus a few early years as wildland firefighter, and a couple years as arson investigator. One common thread that weaves its way through the poems is that cops and firefighters are people, facing the same personal issues as everyone else. They are not heroes or cyborgs who possess abilities beyond the normal, though their actions may occasionally be heroic. They have problems at home the same as anyone else, bills to pay, lawns to mow. Public safety personnel are a cross-section of society - they are you. The word "fire" as used in this collection has several meanings, the most obvious is that of actual flames and burning. It also expresses the idea "...in the line of fire," describing the path of a bullet, someone as a target solely because of a profession or uniform. In a more general sense, and predominantly as used in this collection, the term describes the world's chaos, the wild and uncontrolled events involving imperfect humans, cops and citizens and what lies between, with all the differences of opinion, the human condition at its highest and lowest. Maybe this book of poems can shed a different light on how we view cops and firefighters. It is not intended to defend them, but to expose them, make it clear these are fellow human beings thrust into almost impossible situations. Imagine if these poems could put readers for just a few moments into the middle of those daily challenges, to envision for themselves how they might respond stepping into the fire.
