The Catapult Officers

  I 

A mosaic of institutional failure
On a breathtaking level  
The catapult officers
Egregious, shameful and with despicable acts
With rubber boots
Coat dirty and frayed
Oblivious of their surroundings

Spent years in “check points”
Soaked in the rain
Got kicked around for “returns” from their superior
It makes them crazy - crazy, but not stupid
Armed with catapult instead of modern guns 
The money-sucking parasites
Encouraged from the rank and file of the force

“Stop!”
“Where your papers?”
It’s usually more of a challenge than a request
Intimidation
With jaw clinched
Chin dropped and eyes turned red
Quickly manufacture a skeletal framework of any allegation

II

They do keep you waiting for long
To them, time is of no importance - part of the game
“You have to settle us”
Such blatant and unashamed greed
If you don't understand them
The catapult officers can draw you in
Drive you crazy, and drain you dry.

They observe every moment
Know all the criminals around
They hear the sounds of the roads
Sniff through your pocket for the whiff of money
They absorb the odor of the diesel fumes form the city buses
The same bus driver passes twice every hour
And had to “pay his dues”

Suddenly,
A gun is fired in a distance
From a “superior armed officers”
And they all disappear
Quickly remove their black tops
And reappear, completely disguised
‘Guns’ gone - The catapult officers

Robot  # 1 | 08.11.2007 22:07

...Read the full article.

pappilo  # 2 | 10.11.2007 02:10

Could this poem be about officers of the Nigerian police Force? .......Well maybe not .......

Oru-Ama  # 3 | 10.11.2007 06:24

The poem I guess is about armed robbers who disguise as policemen. In Nigeria, they usually mount road blocks, pretending to be policemen on duty. This trend became more rampant when the Nigerian police uniform was made easily accessible.