"The Parting Glass"
We're gathered here to toast
and fete
A cop as good as ever they
get.
To celebrate his life and
times
Of keeping peace and fight
crimes.
He's older, wiser, more white on
top
than when he first became
a cop.
He's gotten broader in the
beam;
There's stress and strain at every
seam
'Cause back when he was
in his prime,
There were so many donuts
and abundance of time.
Still, in his eye, the fire
glows;
He's true and blue down to his toes.
Tonight we raise the parting
glass
To toast his grace and charm
and class.
And Praise "The Job" he
did as well
As any has ever and got through
to tell.
"The Job," it is dangerous,
tough and demanding.
Most of us do it to standards
outstanding.
For some it's not easy,
for others, too much.
Some get in trouble--use drink as
a crutch,
Lose family and future,
job and good name;
Become disillusioned, turn
cynic, heap blame.
Some disappoint us and tarnish
the shield.
Some, to our grief, don't come home
from the field.
But it has its rewards and
their richness you'll see
At a retirement party where
our honoree
Toast a roomfull of people, each
one of whom stands
Tall as a redwood and thinks
it's just grand
To work as a cop on the
beat or the road
With the finest of comrades
to help share the load.
This Poem was taken from the book "Constantine's
Circus" by Terry O'Neill
by Special Permission of the
Author and is copyrighted by Constantine's
Circus, Inc.
THAT LAST SUPPER
At the end of every career, there is a gathering
to thank and celebrate the individual who is entering retirement. It's
an opportunity to sum up the events of that career and to talk about a
unique and individual personality and what he or she has meant to the organization.
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