By Kadyn Washington, Virginia State University
Second-Place Winner, Poetry, 2022 VSU English Department Writing Contest
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/nsplsh_4f534348307870396c7934~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_653,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/nsplsh_4f534348307870396c7934~mv2.jpg)
The sounds of gunfire masks the cries and screams
Take me away
Take me away from this place where plaster and paint meant more than flesh and blood
Away from a place where the neighbors mean more than the victim
Take me away from helplessness
Take me from this place where I can’t sleep peacefully without being a target
Away from this place where a black woman’s life is so unappreciated
And her justice for her death remains unseen
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