Daddy's Little Man Poem by Ginny Cadle

Mark and Tom were cops as well as brothers
Their sons often spent the night with each other
Chris was Mark's five-year-old son
When daddy had to work Chris loved to ride along
He often dreamed of the day he would also be a cop
He'd walk proudly up to the car he'd stop
His mom and dad loved their son more than life itself
That's why dad's gun was kept high on the shelf
Chris knew that he would see his six year old cousin that day
Mom would send the boys off to play
The women were preparing for a cookout
While watching the game you could hear the men yell and shout
When the guys ran out of beer they sent the women to town
It wasn't hard for the boys to get the gun down
All it took was a chair and a book
On the shelf Mark didn't think the boys would look
Chris knew what could happen with a gun
They were both taught not to handle one
But being a kid he got it down to have some fun
They decided to go out and play in the sun
Jason laid the gun next to a toy one
When they came back in Jason picked up the gun
As he pointed the gun at Chris
He yelled, 'Hey cop take this'
The gun was pointed at Chris's head
In a moment Chris fell over on his bed
You could hear a tiny scream as Chris fell on his cover
Chris's young life was instantly over
As the guys ran to see about the clatter
Mark's world began to shatter
As Jason clung to his daddy's leg
Mark fell to the floor to plead and beg
By the time the ambulance did arrive
Mark knew that Chris was no longer alive
This could have been prevented with a lock and key
Also by having the gun put on safety
The tears ran down Jason's face
As Mark gave him a much needed embrace
The tears flowed as the memories ran
Chris was 'Daddy's Little Man'
Chris wanted to be like his daddy
But now that would never be
He was taken from them for all of eternity
Mark was devastated by this tragedy
Memories of the moments, memories of his son
Oh how he hated that gun
At his funeral Mark couldn't say goodbye
He asked God why it was Chris that had to die
As Chris's parents slowly turned around
They found that the whole town
Had come to pay their last respects to Chris
The little boy that everyone loved and would sadly miss.