Exposed: A Collection of Poems

By John McCarthy

Who are we? Where do we come from? What is our purpose? These questions have been asked throughout our existence. Ever since the first campfire was lit, we have asked ourselves if we could do better. And we have wondered what lies in the future.

Exposed is a collection of poetry written by John McCarthy, first as therapy and then as an outlet for a vast expanse of emotions. His perspective has been shaped by thirty years of police and investigation experience and by being an avid hunter and nature enthusiast. This collection is the culmination of a four-year journey that begins with despair over a broken marriage and ends in redemption. Its an honest reflection of lifes experiences and of a search for a higher calling.

This poetic journey begins with Somethings Wrong, in which two strangers in a long marriage pass each other as life goes by. They know everything about each other, but they do not really know the things that matterparticularly how to say the things that need to be said. The authors melancholy path takes us through periods of reflection and self-pity, but it closes on a note of hopefulness.

Exposed reveals the poets enlightenment and purposehis love of the mountains and the sea, and inspiration passing through old, lonely country towns that time has forgotten. Experience the world through McCarthys eyes and words: the tragic, the sadness, the lonely, the joy, the redemption, and the beauty.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491707265

John McCarthy

John McCarthy is currently an investigative consultant for Children’s Services of NYC, assisting in child abuse investigations. He studied at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and worked for over twenty years as a police officer and detective for the NYPD. John has two grown children and currently lives in New Rochelle, New York.

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Favorite Quotes

Something’s Wrong

In an Old, Gray Town

In the Heart of the County

Everything You Need

Alone in the Dark

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?

The Unwanted Man

The Illusions Are Real

Soulitary Confinement

I Come to the Mountains and the Sea

Echo Bay

Autumn in New York

Walking through Woods

I Can Hear the Children Cry

Apples and Roots

Killing His Dear

I Have Fallen

The Man, the Rope, and the Tree

Is Me

Surrender My Love

Word of the Day

Forever and Always

Scrambled

Nightmare

I Have Seen the Gate

The Tiger in the Boat

I Will Never Forget

They Were Kings

We Hold These Truths

The Ship of Fools

Sunshine in My Eyes

The Man on the Corner

You Are Not Alone

Jack Doyle

Under the Locust Tree

Brother

I Want to Be

Dan Striker

The Lonely Heart

Key Largo

Redemption

The Timekeeper

Exposed

Stardust

Hope Springs

The Long Road Back Home

Acknowledgements

For Stephanie and Johnny. For their support, understanding, and their enthusiasm and hope for a better tomorrow.

To Celeste, Freddy, Michelle, Billy and Brian. Family is all we have. Grateful for your support and advice.

To the girls that make work fun. Liah, Anjali, Triple A, and Oh Susanna. For all your encouragement and all the humor you bring to work.

For Taffy and Finnegan. For the warmth and encouragement I receive, without having to ask. And for saying why not, when some say why?

Introduction

Who are we? Where do we come from? What is our purpose? These questions have been asked throughout our existence. Ever since the first campfire was lit, we have asked ourselves if we could do better. And we have wondered what is in the future.

I have been shaped by thirty years of police and investigation experience, along with being an avid hunter and nature enthusiast. Throw in the disintegration of a long marriage, and you have the makings of some very personal, dark, spiritual, and honest writings. Being a New York City cop and detective and then working as an investigator of child abuse and as a witness, I bring many issues and circumstances of domestic and child abuse to light.

So this is the culmination of a four-year journey. It begins with despair over a broken marriage and ends in redemption. It’s an honest reflection of life’s experiences and toils and of a search for a higher