They say the future is ours,do well at school be good have fun and abide by the rules
Success is for winners and failure for fools
But the streets where I live they have different rules
Boarded up houses, burnt out cars, children with babies and junkies with scars
Frightened old folk with fear in their eyes, the community spirit is starting to die
Who are you looking at as I pass by
I bow my head and try to hide
I look the other way and keep on walking
The boy with the phone just keeps on talking
Money passes hands and items exchanged, who took more than their share and who took the same
Voices rose! You show me respect
A flash of steel sinks into his chest, another statistic to add to the rest
Sirens echo and the street is sealed off
A parents heartbreak for the child they have lost
Our streets stained with pain that is the cost
The blood washed away a new day begins who will step forward
Who shall be king?
KAINE COTTON (14)