Look at the empty shacks,
The children once inhabited.
Their broken pencils snapped
Across skinny slab-like wooden desks.
The children once inhabited,
The decaying wooden bunkers.
Across skinny slab-like wooden desks
They wrote love notes to each other.
The decaying wooden bunkers,
In a dark October forest.
They wrote love notes to each other
Our generation never noticed.
In a dark October forest,
They roam and search for scraps.
Our generation never noticed;
Never charted on any maps.
They roam and search for scraps,
Their broken pencils snapped,
Never charted on any maps,
Look at the empty shacks.
Laurel Aronian is a high school junior whose writing has appeared in Young Mensa, Lexophilia, Chess Life, American Chess, and Skipping Stones publications. Laurel is thrilled to be the runner-up in the Literacy In Place Rural Teen Writing Contest! In 2023, Laurel received national silver in the 2023 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (regional gold keys for three consecutive years) and was runner-up in the Society of Classical Poets International High School Poetry Competition. In addition to her writing, Laurel is a YoungArts Merit Award winner for voice/singer-songwriter and is the co-founder and director of Chessin1day.com, a teen volunteer service organization. Laurel is the Teen Ambassador for the United States Chess Women’s Girls Club and was the 2022 CT State Girls Chess Champion. When Laurel isn’t at a keyboard, soundboard, or chessboard, you can probably find her daydreaming about “good food!”
Dr. Parton's Literacy In Place 
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