if i had to be a sheriff

i would like to be the kind

 who rescues people

who fall in the water

run out of gas

get lost

need help

love sticker badges for their kids

i would not like to be the kind

who pulled us over one summer on a lake

because we were guilty of:

dancing.

i would rather be one

who throws frisbees to people on the beach

like the one we met on the weekend

who likes music and smiling and dancing.

—

‘if time were the wicked sheriff in a horse opera,

i’d play for riding lessons and take his gun away.’

-w.h. auden