THIS SHIELD
This shield goes where no man knows,
What lies behind the wall,
Up the stairs, through the door,
Or down a darkened hall.
This shield goes where trouble thrives,
Where pain and death abode.
Where people live in squalor deep,
And all is lost save hope.
This shield stands watch while others sleep,
Rest safely in their homes.
It cuts the root of evil out,
Wherever it may grow,
A cry for help, to join the fray,
Respond to fateful call.
Stand this ground, protect the right,
The cost, to forfeit all,
Behind this shield a heart of steel,
But tender just the same.
It deals with desperate, struggling lives
And knows each one by name.
Behind this shield, a family dwells,
No ordinary life.
They bear the one who wears this shield.
They share the pain and strife.
On each shield, a special grace,
The hand of God you will find.
For those who bear this shield step out,
And form the thin blue line.
D.L. Grothous
Boise Police Department – 12/27/2002