Tables of stature half height
Dust settling on mornings glow
Chairs tucked in
Uncharacteristically
For once
Lined in a row.
Silence deafeningly unnatural
Fills the room
Remnants of children's laughter
Echo
Poignant reminders
Remnants that reverberate
Faint shadows.
Dusk pervades the classroom
Teachers weep at time now frozen
As a generation now chilled
For their time has been stolen
Lives full of promise
Unfulfilled
Remain on hold.
The Spoken Word 