10/63

The lawmen came to call today

“We’ve got a warrant!” I heard them say

and if convicted of the crime

chances are, you’ll do some time.

How could I be dreaming all of this?

the handcuffs cut into my wrists.

Red lights flashed on the cars outside

waiting to take me for a ride.

as neighbors stared silently in the night

a voice advised “ you have the right…..”

I was a mere child of fourteen when the event that inspired the writing of this poem occurred at our house in Sunset Beach. Just over 57 years ago and to this day I clearly remember that brown, 4-door pulling up our driveway and this large man stepping out, coming to our kitchen door, and when mom went out to see what he wanted, he asked for me, by name. Imagine her surprise when he told her that someone had witnessed me stealing money and jewelry from tourists who had their car parked at the beach, down the road from our house. I was scared, very scared. I had been there where he claimed the theft took place but how could there be a witness to something that I had not done. There was nothing she could do. I know I must have been trembling with fear. Here I was, fourteen and being led to the back of a police car and taken away. As we headed away from the house, the police officer kept telling me that I might as well confess because he had a witness. I would not confess even though he threatened to “take me downtown”, which to me could only mean getting thrown in jail. Not even through the tears I cried would I admit to stealing from that car and those people. I remember the words “grand larceny” being mentioned which only served to scare me even more. I knew it was bad but didn’t completely understand what grand larceny meant, only that the value of what was stolen was a large amount. “Just tell me you did it and I’ll take you back home:”. I would not. We stopped for some unknown reason at a fire station a few miles down the road and at some point before he went in “to make a call”, he took my fingerprints and asked me “You’re not going to try to run, are you?”. Run? I was way too scared to try anything like that. He went into the station, left me in the car and when he returned to the car, he took me back home. He let me out promising to be back if they found out anything. I never saw him again nor did I find out what happened in the days that followed. Inspired by the fear I experienced, I wrote. I remember.