The Schoolhouse

This crumbling school house,
once proudly standing tall,
now lays in pieces on the ground.
Local children are hard at work
building it back up again.
But this time, it will be everlasting.
For they know that this is their hope,
their way to learn and grow.
For the city has fallen,
and there is no one to help them anymore.
Only these children,
working tirelessly day and night,
will bring back the light.
And when they do,
everyone will know that
this city was once great.
This school house,
once a beacon of hope,
now stands as a reminder of what could have been.
What could be.
Local children are rebuilding it
because they know that education is the key to their future.
They will not let this school house fall again.
This is their legacy.

This was a poetic tale from the city of Lazarus, A dystopian metropolis half sunken in the sea, along with ai art created with stable diffusion inspired by the words of the poem. War and climate change took its toll on this and every other city we know. This is one of many short tales of a young woman and her daily life surviving in the ruble of the modern world.