| THE COP...PAGE 1 |
It was a city like so many others In almost every state in the nation With thousands of homeless, indigent souls Hidden from casual observation The growing number of needy was still on the rise And as the city council was soon to learn The raggedy vagrants so down on their luck Had the citizens of town quite concerned! "This must not be allowed to continue!" The mayor said to the commissioner one night "We must appoint a committee! Designate a team To rid our fair city of this blight!" The commissioner replied, "Mayor...these are people! "Not some bond you are trying to float!" The mayor laughed, "You're right ...they ARE people But fortunately...the kind who don't vote!!" So that's how the "Bum Squad" as it became known Since its beginning first came about... A group of cops just to deal with the homeless A perfect solution...no doubt! A team of 12 foot patrol officers Whose job was to clean up the town Run off all the beggars...arrest the panhandlers Shut their hangouts and barrelfires all down! The officer in charge of the Bum Squad Was an old hand...Joseph Patrick Murphy by name... A natural leader who hated all bums everywhere He considered vagrants and felons the same Murphy was a typical Irishman Built stocky with flaming red hair Just starting to gray at the temples And a beer belly he sported with flair! He'd been a policeman for 32 years And when it came to someone out-of-work He thought them all just users and scum Who took advantage of society's perks... So he was the Mayor's perfect answer For the new squad he was chosen to lead The higher-ups were sure he'd get the job done Solving one of the town's urgent needs! So from then on the plight of the homeless Who already lived in the most direlstraits.. Got progressively worse with Sgt Murphy in charge As indifference hardened into raw hate! Instead of being told to just "Move along!" When gathered at anywhere with access to heat Now they were rounded up and arrested, or worse As the Bum Squad patrolled every street! A homeless families, someone blind, or a cripple? Anyone caught asking passers-by for change Was hauled off and after years of being ignored The poor found such diligence quite strange! But Murphy made it clear to all of his men That he had no tolerance for slack "I want every bum in this town that you find Either in jail or on a fast track! That leads straight out of this city Its our job to get rid of them all!" And when a young rookie said,"But that's not Christian" Murphy backed him right into a wall! "There's no room on this team for do-gooders" he roared Your job is to find!! ..Seize and search! You’ll hunt them like rats wherever they hide Or else get out and go work at some church!!" After that big explosion not one of the men Dared let even one vagrant go free!! They'd say to themselves...”If Sarge ever finds out The next one unemployed will be me!" So life in that city grew harder each day So much worse than ever before The poor were barred from street corners, parks And not allowed near the diners or stores! |
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