The Cop

A dream I had ’fore I awoke
I hired on as a cop;
Not early on in life that is,
But now, no training – stop!

Why here on earth would you ask me
To do a job like that?!
Why can't you see how bad the fit –
Besides, I'm old and fat.

But they persisted, got my boots,
My uniform and cap,
My bundle of things personal,
My Taizer, gun, and bat.

I kept protesting, ‘I don't know
A thing about all this’;
But they ignored me, carried on,
As if I could do it.

The training on the job was bad,
I bumbled through their ways,
And dreaded what would happen when
I started working days.

One guy said – ‘Rest when e’er you can
You never know, you see’.
Another said, ‘Hey, gather up
Your stuff and come with me’.

Good thing it was that I woke up
Good thing for all I'd say;
Because unfit, misfit would be
A sorry use of pay.

So maybe that a warning is
To be quite circumspect,
And not take jobs unqualified
Or even them inspect.

So similar I dream it was
To one a long time back,
When I was asked to organ play
I didn't wake in that –

It was a mess, I stupid felt,
And couldn't do as asked;
When I awoke saw ‘no’ to say
When I can't do a task.

So what of now – these last few days
Or months, or years, ahead –
What are the tasks I shouldn't choose –
Much better, use my head?

I'd say a ‘Pastor’ is the first
(I'm certified inept);
Commercial-type photographer –
I once that option kept;

Or social worker; prof; or teacher;
Lawyer, judge, or clerk;
Those kinds of jobs are way beyond me
As a type of work.

But I can blather on somewhat,
Encourage, and portray
The insights I have learned or heard
To others – make them pay?

I don't know – maybe a mix
With photographs as well,
Then find someplace where other folks
Would buy what I would sell.

Like dream of how that rookie cop
Got hired despite untrained,
Who'd walked into a complex world –
He must have been insane –

The world of work quite complex is
In jobs that still exist;
Too bad for those who can't be trained
Though job of ‘crime’ persists –

And goodly is that path of life,
For what would coppers do
Without the bad guys acting up?
No job – like me and you.

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