On Cottman Avenue, in the darkness of the night
You can find a young boy who always held his head up high
The same route everyday
Walking down Cottman with a smile upon his face
Tall, light-skinned and has beautifully brown eyes
Always surrounded by friends, although not his size
But today was different; today there was a change
The boy walked alone; although he still had that same smile on his face
Turning the corner; always taking the same turns
A group close behind in a peculiar way
The suffocating smell that escapes their cigarettes
They gained speed but the boy didn’t seem to notice
I tried to reach him; to warn him
But speeding cars blocked the way
Like a moat protecting its castle
Getting to the other side; searching frantically for that boy
Just to find him in an alleyway
Deprived of clothes and all
A blood wound on his chest and side
I called the ambulance
For what more could I do?
I sat there and cried
In the bloody chest of the boy I once knew
