--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a cop who is both prowler and…" description: "\"“There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had certain ideals. You hardly know him in his bo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg" --- # There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes… ![“There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had certain ideals. You hardly know him in his boots and silver badge, on horseback, one hand touching his gun. You hardly know him but you have to get to know him: he has access to machinery that…” quote by Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg) > ““There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had certain ideals. You hardly know him in his boots and silver badge, on horseback, one hand touching his gun. You hardly know him but you have to get to know him: he has access to machinery that could kill you. He and his stallion clop like warlords among the trash, his ideals stand in the air, a frozen cloud from between his unsmiling lips. And so, when the time comes, you have to turn to him, the maniac’s sperm still greasing your thighs, your mind whirling like crazy. You have to confess to him, you are guilty of the crime of having been forced. And you see his blue eyes, the blue eyes of all the family whom you used to know, grow narrow and glisten, his hand types out the details and he wants them all but the hysteria in your voice pleases him best. You hardly know him but now he thinks he knows you: he has taken down you worst moment on a machine and filed it in a file. He knows, or thinks he knows, how much you imagined; he knows, or thinks he knows, what you secretly wanted. He has access to machinery that could get you put away; and if, in the sickening light of the precinct, and if, in the sickening light of the precinct, your details sound like a portrait of your confessor, will you swallow, will you deny them, will you lie your way home?”” [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem explores the paradox of authority figures who are both part of the community and wield oppressive power, forcing individuals to confront complicity and fear. **In simple terms:** Authority can be both familiar and threatening, demanding confession and compliance. Key Takeaway Recognize and question the power dynamics that shape your interactions. Themes authority identity conflict surveillance trust Mood anxious defiant reflective Type poetic critical social commentary When to use this quote - courtroom testimony - police encounters - personal confession - social activism - legal defense Key Concepts power dynamics social control psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate trust with those who hold power over you? - What strategies can you use to maintain agency in oppressive situations? A Different Perspective The speaker’s perspective may romanticize or exaggerate the cop’s influence, limiting broader systemic critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confess/) [Confess Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confess-guilty-5556003/) [Cop Prowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cop-prowler-495578/) [Crime Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-having-5556004/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Prowler Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prowler-father-495577/) [Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape/) [Way home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-home/) [Worst Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-mom/) ## Related quotes > [“There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had certain ideals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-father-he-comes-from-your/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“If I am seeking to get identity from you ,I will watch you too closely, listen to you too intently, and need you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/if-i-am-seeking-to-get-identity-from-you-i-will-watch-you-too-closely/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Life is for having fun. 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They felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-ripley/the-one-thread-that-was-most-surprising-and-most-consistent-was-the/) [Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-ripley/) > [The worst moment of any campaign is waiting for the sun to rise on the morning of the battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/the-worst-moment-of-any-campaign-is-waiting-for-the-sun-to-rise-on/) [Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/) > [God takes control of our situations, takes care of our worries, displaces our fears for joy, loves us in our best and our worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/god-takes-control-of-our-situations-takes-care-of-our-worries/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I think I'll either be the world's worst mom or the world's best mom. 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Saying out loud, "You're never going to touch me again" - that was a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/it-was-a-story-to-tell-myself-a-promise-saying-out-loud-you-re-never/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“he knew that men were too complex to be defined by the worst moment in their lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-north-patterson/he-knew-that-men-were-too-complex-to-be-defined-by-the-worst-moment/) [Richard North Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-north-patterson/) > [“She remembered when Will had died, her agony, the long nights alone, reaching across the bed every morning when she woke up, for eighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/she-remembered-when-will-had-died-her-agony-the-long-nights-alone/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The worst moment was when I was performing and I was about to sing, but I choked. I had a tickle in my throat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/the-worst-moment-was-when-i-was-performing-and-i-was-about-to-sing/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [“Writing is turning life's worst moments into money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy/writing-is-turning-life-s-worst-moments-into-money/) [J.P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy/) ## More by Adrienne Rich > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you...it means that you do not treat your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/responsibility-to-yourself-means-refusing-to-let-others-do-your/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Well, she's long about her coming, who must be more merciless to herself than history. Her mind full to the wind, I see her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/well-she-s-long-about-her-coming-who-must-be-more-merciless-to/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I think my work comes out of both an intense desire for connection and what it means to feel isolated. There's always going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/i-think-my-work-comes-out-of-both-an-intense-desire-for-connection/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrotea letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/popular-culture-entered-my-life-as-shirley-temple-who-was-exactly-my/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/in-a-history-of-spiritual-rupture-a-social-compact-built-on-fantasy/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [It's as if, in the mother's eyes, her smile, her stroking touch, the child first reads the message:'You are there!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/it-s-as-if-in-the-mother-s-eyes-her-smile-her-stroking-touch-the/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The women's movement appeared at a very crucial moment in my life. There was a whole political movement asking such questions and others I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-women-s-movement-appeared-at-a-very-crucial-moment-in-my-life/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The word revolution itself has become not only a dead relic of Leftism, but a key to the deadendedness of male politics: the revolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-word-revolution-itself-has-become-not-only-a-dead-relic-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The decision to feed the world is the real decision. No revolution has chosen it. For that choice requires that women shall be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-decision-to-feed-the-world-is-the-real-decision-no-revolution-has/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The necessity of poetry has to be stated over and over, but only to those who have reason to fear its power, or those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-necessity-of-poetry-has-to-be-stated-over-and-over-but-only-to/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I think many poets, including myself, write both for the voice and for the page. I certainly write for the person alone in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/i-think-many-poets-including-myself-write-both-for-the-voice-and-for/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [If I cling to circumstances I could feel not responsible. Only she who says she did not choose, is the loser in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/if-i-cling-to-circumstances-i-could-feel-not-responsible-only-she-who/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) [Explore all 364 Adrienne Rich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) ## More Confess quotes > [What better can we do than prostrate fall before Him reverent, and there confess humbly our faults, and pardon beg with tears watering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/what-better-can-we-do-than-prostrate-fall-before-him-reverent-and/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [On a related subject, Signore Pazzi, I must confess to you: I'm giving serious thought to eating your wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/on-a-related-subject-signore-pazzi-i-must-confess-to-you-i-m-giving/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [“I wanted to come clean many times. I wanted to admit my jealousy, to confess my sarcasm and endless anger, to put all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/invisible-sam/i-wanted-to-come-clean-many-times-i-wanted-to-admit-my-jealousy-to/) [Invisible Sam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/invisible-sam/) > [“Lord, we confess our numerous faults, How great our guilt has been! Foolish and vain were all our thoughts, And all our lives were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-watts/lord-we-confess-our-numerous-faults-how-great-our-guilt-has-been/) [Isaac Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-watts/) > [I want to confess as best I can, but my heart is void. The void is a mirror. I see my face and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/i-want-to-confess-as-best-i-can-but-my-heart-is-void-the-void-is-a/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [Tell me, if I confess my feelings to you, will you say you feel the same? Or am I going to have to cringe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/tell-me-if-i-confess-my-feelings-to-you-will-you-say-you-feel-the/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [I confess freely to you, I could never look long upon a monkey, without very mortifying reflections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/i-confess-freely-to-you-i-could-never-look-long-upon-a-monkey-without/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [“We rarely confide in those who are better than we. Most often, on the other hand, we confess to those who are like us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-rarely-confide-in-those-who-are-better-than-we-most-often-on-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You dont go to hell for being gay unless you confess your sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-dont-go-to-hell-for-being-gay-unless-you-confess-your-sin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why will no man confess his faults? Because he continues to indulge in them; a man cannot tell his dream till he wakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/why-will-no-man-confess-his-faults-because-he-continues-to-indulge-in/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“You got what you deserved. Now be a man and confess to what most of us already know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-buck/you-got-what-you-deserved-now-be-a-man-and-confess-to-what-most-of-us/) [Stacy Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-buck/) > [Oh yes. You’ve caught me. I confess. My sole purpose in life is to gleefully, willfully, maniacally destroy all of your precious chrome babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/oh-yes-you-ve-caught-me-i-confess-my-sole-purpose-in-life-is-to/) [Jennifer Estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/) > [“Confess your sins, worship God, and get on with your life. You can experience the mercy of God no matter what you’ve been through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-mcgee/confess-your-sins-worship-god-and-get-on-with-your-life-you-can/) [Robert S. McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-mcgee/) > [“My name is John Creedmoor, and I would like to confess my crimes. Hope you all weren't going anywhere this week...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gilman/my-name-is-john-creedmoor-and-i-would-like-to-confess-my-crimes-hope/) [Felix Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-gilman/) > [“The truth is, not one of is innocent. We all have sins to confess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-w-gortner/the-truth-is-not-one-of-is-innocent-we-all-have-sins-to-confess/) [C.W. Gortner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-w-gortner/) [Browse all 412 Confess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confess/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had certain ideals. You hardly know him in his boots and silver badge, on horseback, one hand touching his gun. You hardly know him but you have to get to know him: he has access to machinery that could kill you. He and his stallion clop like warlords among the trash, his ideals stand in the air, a frozen cloud from between his unsmiling lips. And so, when the time comes, you have to turn to him, the maniac’s sperm still greasing your thighs, your mind whirling like crazy. You have to confess to him, you are guilty of the crime of having been forced. And you see his blue eyes, the blue eyes of all the family whom you used to know, grow narrow and glisten, his hand types out the details and he wants them all but the hysteria in your voice pleases him best. You hardly know him but now he thinks he knows you: he has taken down you worst moment on a machine and filed it in a file. He knows, or thinks he knows, how much you imagined; he knows, or thinks he knows, what you secretly wanted. He has access to machinery that could get you put away; and if, in the sickening light of the precinct, and if, in the sickening light of the precinct, your details sound like a portrait of your confessor, will you swallow, will you deny them, will you lie your way home?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adrienne Rich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-father-he-comes-from-your-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confess" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-father-he-comes-from-your-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d1/adrienne-rich-803_confess_there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-f_3134125.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had…” — Adrienne Rich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adrienne Rich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There is a cop who is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-father-he-comes-from-your-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/there-is-a-cop-who-is-both-prowler-and-father-he-comes-from-your-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```