My Warning Citation Poem by Glen Martin Fitch

(after being stopped after my day-care shift)

Exhausted, overwhelmed,
confused, up-set,
as when a toddler
bellows on the rug,
so small and powerless,
her needs unmet,
she fights me,
but I know she needs a hug.
(My loving parents
would have belted me
or worse ignored my plight)
Though she resists
my arms encircle her.
She can't get free.
'When you relax,
I'll let you go.'
She twists and bends
and yet I know
she craves restraint.
She longs to know
that someone's big enough
and cares enough
to answer her complaint.

So we need others
constant, careful, tough.
'Thanks, officer,
for making me slow down.
Our town is safe.
I'm safer in our town.'