Poem 29: Safe City

I know I griped in my previous poem about our downtown core

I guess my rant isn’t over because I’m going to add some more

You see this area is the focal point of most drug crimes in our city

Expand this to cover the blocks that surround it, the picture isn’t pretty

The avenues marked one to seven seem to have the highest rate

I heard the worst place for drugs is Fourth but it’s all up for debate

So don’t forget Worthington, McIntyre or Wyld that all run close to Main

Now I can get to the topic that I have chosen to complain

This city is a community and we have to share the wealth

This I wish to include all the services, including mental health

I’ve often said and agree, we must do everything we can

Maybe do some more research, perhaps we can adjust this plan

To me, all these services are too concentrated in this place

Seems everything is downtown, can we not expand this space?

There must be a case of the addict facing their pusher as they walk along this street

When you have all the methadone clinics there, it’s a good chance that they’ll meet

In this part of the city, all the addicts are free to roam

This is an area that is not far from my home

Now the newest residents in our area are situated in the Laurier Woods

Our Police Chief doesn’t seem too concerned but I really think he should

“It is happening in other cities” is the statement that he said

I guess he figured he had more serious things to worry about instead

It’s funny that he’s not worried about this group that choose to live in tents

Instead it was on another topic that he had chose to vent

He thinks social media has the mentality of a mob

I guess that’s his way of telling us to let the police just do their job

Like it or not I choose to disagree with the leader of our force

I would like to contain this “Tent City” before the situation becomes worse

People living there are stealing to purchase all their drugs

In this so called cosy group, there’s bound to be some thugs

Go on to these “Neighbourhood Watch” sites and observe what there is to view

Then decide on what it is that you intend to do

I don’t think a posse of vigilantes will form as a result

Frankly I think these concerned citizens should take the Chief’s comments as an insult

There’s things going on in this city that you may not want to know

But just ignoring the problem is not the way to go

Being close to this “Tent City” has me concerned to say the least

But I guess you can say “It’s the nature of the beast”

Surveillance in our neighbourhood is an asset as far as I’m concerned

If “Tent City” goes bad, we will be the first ones to be burned

Don’t think that we are the only ones that have to be aware

Crime in this city is happening everywhere

So thanks to all these citizens that perform this special role

Keeping the city safe from crime is their primary goal

Forget what the Police Chief said and continue what you do

We all stand to be much safer thanks to people like you

Ignore the trolls and skeptics that will try to trash your site

You provide a vital service, it’s not wrong, it’s right!

To all the volunteers that put in all their time

Thanks to all your efforts in order to prevent crime

I’m sure there are members of the police that don’t share the Chief’s point of view

In order to solve a crime they will look up video that was made by you

Then over time, the Chief will eventually understand

That the force and social media can work hand in hand

I guess this dilemma will continue and they will continue to fight it out

Keeping this city safe is really what it’s all about