11/03/2022
MY AMERICAN HEROES TRILOGY:
(The first poem will be engraved on a monument to fallen law enforcement officers to be erected at the historical courthouse in Dade City, Florida)
IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Sweet Angels of most glorious beauty
Praise those fallen in the line of duty.
With voices of gold, in honor they sing
Of great heroes to the Heavenly King.
Brave officers who fill our hearts with awe
Gave all that they had to uphold the law.
They sought not fame for the job that was done,
Nor in the face of danger did they run.
Now we must cherish the life that they lost
And honor their names, whatever the cost.
So much we will lose if silent we stand
When our crime fighters fall across the land.
For the valiant who pay the highest price,
No proclamation would ever suffice.
Unable to compose a fitting hymn,
Only this can I say in thought of them:
Oh, dear heroes filled with the good Lord’s grace,
Sacrifice makes this world a finer place.
Wendell Speer
THE AMERICAN VET
Let us honor the American Vet,
Who helped make this nation the greatest yet.
Called upon to serve in peacetime or war,
Many have fallen on foreign shore
To preserve the values that make us great,
Accepting that death could become their fate.
But our heroes live on beyond their fall,
Long in the hearts of Americans all.
Others came home maimed from the battlefield,
Or left with deep scars in the soul unhealed.
The same love and respect for them we share.
Forever we must show them how much we care.
Many veterans served in time of peace.
Valiant and bold, they kept our minds at ease.
Their readiness to prove the world their might
Keeps this country safe with rarely a fight.
For sacred freedom, we owe a great debt
To God Almighty and the American Vet.
Wendell Speer
FIRST RESPONDERS
When much too soon a brave life is taken,
We hope for a bad dream from which we’ll awaken.
Every day, First Responders are falling
Before dread events that cut short their calling.
Then with sadness immense, in our hearts we accept
The great flood of despair and the tears that are wept.
Strength we are given by their great sacrifice
To perform their service, whatever the price.
To natural disaster or terrorist threat,
They answer the summon without thought of regret.
No army would these American shores invade,
But pandemic, fire, and violence will slay.
So many heroes come forth the front lines are blurred.
Throughout this nation, the best are never deterred.
When First Responders prove they are the top notch,
May all the host of Heaven hail their end of watch.
Wendell Speer
