Writing: ‘Shots Fired’ by Eric Daniels

This piece placed third for middle school writing submissions in the Ánimo Voices Writing and Art Competition, which invited students to consider a change they’d like to see in their community or the world and to convince an audience, through any genre of writing or visual medium, of the importance of this change. The competition was an opportunity to motivate, recognize, and celebrate our strong student voices through writing and art.   By Eric Daniels Ánimo Westside Charter Middle School

Shots Fired

We did not know we were going to die Our parents never got to say goodbye We were at school another day When a school shooter came our way He took our lives and ran away We never saw the light of day The bullet went straight through us Then the media made a fuss We never got to drive a car We never got to raise the bar We never got to buy a house We never got to marry a spouse We never got to go across the planet All because he took our lives for granted For we hope the shooter that day will pay We didn’t know we were going to die that day