Dispatcher Poems
Poems About Dispatchers
Through my years of being a 9-1-1 dispatcher I have come across several beautiful poems. Some funny, some sad, some just out-right crazy. However, they all fit the job. There are good days and there are bad days.
I myself have used poetry as a way of relieveing stress and built up emotions that I have incurred as a dispatcher. While none of the work below is mine, I am happy to display it. These writers are very talented and have also found that writing is a great way of coping with the stress that comes with the job.
Here are a few of my favorite 9-1-1 Dispatcher Poems. I will be adding more including several funny dispatch poems.
Dispatcher's Prayer
A Dispatcher's Letter to God
Dear Lord,
Help me keep safe those who depend on me. Give me
healthy ears, for they are my link with those who need me. Keep my mind sharp and alert, my fingers quick and nimble. Grant that I never forget how to do ten things at once, and do them all equally well.
Bless me with patience Lord. Patience to deal with the public, with the officers, with the boss, and with everyone else who makes me want to grit my teeth and yell. Give me nerves of steel, that I may listen to a mother screaming for her child to live, the man with a gun, or an officer yelling for backup, and not give way to panic.
Grant me empathy, that I may help the battered wife, the rape victim, the abused child, and not cause them more pain than they already have.
God, give me the ability to learn what I need, to remember it quickly, and give me the wisdom to use the knowledge properly.
Bless my family Lord, for they will have to make sacrifices to shift work, overtime, canceled plans, and times when I just can't take on one more thing.
Help them understand the missed ball games, school
programs, and dinners for two.
Lord, give me courage. Courage to persevere when I feel undervalued, unappreciated, overworked, and unrecognized. Courage to keep trying when I feel in my heart it's hopeless. Last of all Lord, help me to never forget why I chose to do this job in the first place, to never lose sight of what is important in the midst of the stress.
Help me to remember that I make a difference, however small it may seem some days, and that I matter.
I am a dispatcher, Lord, grant me peace.
Author Unknown
A Day in the Life of a Dispatcher
by Karen Whaley, Arcadia (FL) Police Department
I leave my home and my family too
To go to the station my job to do,
My kids don't know when I'll work or I won't
My schedule's so crazy I sometimes don't!
It's hard to leave when my family's at home
But this shift will soon change, it won't be long.
I walk in the door and the first thing I see
is the dispatcher on duty just before me.
With a quick rundown of the day's events,
A sympathetic smile and a couple of hints,
She's out the door and back to her life
And I whisper a prayer for safety tonight.
My two worlds are different in so many ways
The language we speak, the things that we say.
At home it's "Mom, can I have some more, please?"
And here, it's 10-4 and 10-29P's.
Though different at times they're similar too
Because someone's life is depending on you.
You answer the phone call after call -
A lost dog, a found cat or nothing at all.
Then the phone rings and the voice on the line
Is screaming for help and you know that it's time.
Your training takes over, you get help on the way,
As you dispatch units you silently pray
"Oh, Lord, please go with them wherever they go
They're risking their lives for one they don't know.
For every officer I have to send
Is not just my co-worker but also my friend.
They have homes and families too,
So I'm asking you, Lord, Please see them through."
As the first of the officers arrive on the scene
You hear the radio beginning to sing.
Send Rescue, and Crime Scene, and CID
Get some more units and call 1,2, and 3.
Send out a BOLO, call this girl's mom
Have her go to the hospital but try to sound calm.
The crisis is over and they're back on patrol
And you know it's okay to lose control.
A couple of tears, a few minutes alone
and back out you go to answer more phones.
The music's too loud, there's a cow in the road
The neighbors are watering in spite of the code.
The next dispatcher is a welcome sight
When she walks in and says, "been a long night?"
You give a quick rundown of the day's events,
a sympathetic smile and a couple of hints,
And when the last of my officers calls 10-42
Today my job's done and I go home too.
Just A Voice
Dispatcher Poem
You don't know who I am; to you I am just a voice.
It was me who took your frantic call, when you had no other choice.
I spend many hours waiting, to help when you're in need.
"Send help to me, please get them here is often what you plead.
To do my job is complex, but only a few tools are a must
Put your faith in me, I am the one that you can trust.
My ears are a necessity; my mouth a mighty sword
I must use my ears to listen, and then choreograph every word.
I am the protector of this land; I take pride in what I do
I am here to listen and do what is best for you.
The day you place a call to me, might be the worst day you ever had
At least today you know, I too was feeling sad.
I take your problems home with me, I know that's not so good,
But as you felt your tragedy it was by your side I stood.
I walked with you to the door, to let them into help,
I guided you to safety, when all alone you felt.
It is not often we hear praise or even simple thanks,
But the cookies and cards are plenty through police and fire ranks.
The day you placed your call, and I picked up the phone
I hope I made you feel safe and showed you you're not alone.
Remember who I am, I am not just a voice
I am the 911 Dispatcher you called when you had no other choice.