A man with a gun
Steps from an allyway gloomed
Aimed it at me
And froze me where I stood
He said, "Son, lemme ask you a question.
As death stares you in the eye,
Are you afraid for your money,
Or do you fear for your life?"

Neither, was the response
From between those clenched teeth

I am unselfish in materials;
you can have all my things.
And my body is ready
for when the angels start to sing

"I think you're lyin'"
Said the man with the gun
"I can see it in yer eyes,
I bet you want to run"

If you do what you do
and you say that you may
then my family'll be left
in such disarray
My mum will become
but just a shell of herself
and my dad in his grief
destroy a lamp or a shelf
My sisters will wear black for a week
My brothers will search for you in the streets
Who knows better than you
where these streets can take?
My Woman may die from a broken heart,
and my children may never know
that I was there from the very start
My friends will all cry
and spill a beer in the dirt
and my dog may become violent
as he guards my last worn shirt
My grandkids will know
The year that I die
But they'll never know like knew
the joy of a grandparents smile
I do fear this in my death, good sir
but I've no fear of dying.

The man shook his head
shaken to his core
His eyes stared for a moment
before they met mine once more

"Get out of here", he said in tone real low
"Go, and speak of dying no more,
For I am the son of a father
Who was killed when I was four"