11/17/2025
Police1 regularly features poems written by officers. Today’s comes from Chief Ramon D. Gonzalez, a Marine Corps veteran with 19 years on the job and now chief of the La Joya (Texas) Police Department.
His poem is a reflection on the weight officers carry quietly — the calls that stay with you, the wear you don’t notice until it’s already taken a toll, and the way helping everyone else can make you forget to take care of yourself.
If these words hit home, you’re not alone.