Sons and Daughters

If my luck is bad and his aim is straight
I will leave my life on the killing field.
You can see me die on the nightly news
As you settle down to your evening meal.

But you'll turn your back as you often do
Yet I am your sons and daughters too.

In the city streets where the neon lights
Turn my skin from black to electric blue
My hope soaks red on the gray pavement
And my dreams die hard for my life is through.

But you'll turn your back as you often do
Yet I am your sons and daughters too.

Maya Angelou (excerpt)