Gentle Returning to the Earth | Teen Ink

Gentle Returning to the Earth

July 12, 2024
By LucySteward PLATINUM, New York, New York
LucySteward PLATINUM, New York, New York
31 articles 0 photos 1 comment

When we decompose into daisies and faded violets

As our pale petals glow under the setting sun

Wind will rustle the soft sighs as souls slip back into soil,

Where hydrogen and o2 and carbon makes up the solidity of everything

We are

And every pulse will become, and become again

In the course of this time that stretches on, wrinkling like the frail hands

That clasp fistfuls of petals, a wash of purples and pinks like the sky above

Bleeding into the blood of those slowing veins, as bones

give way to the welcoming ground beneath

Which smells of rain and tears and laughter, feels of the wonder of a million children as they first lay sight of the boundless fields

Dipping

Into

valleys and

mountains s t r e t c h i n g across this vast earth, feels like the gentle touch of

A kind soul who gazes upon that same sight for the last time

And they give that last breath to the consuming life around them,

Smile easing out that precious release of o2

as they gently return to the earth.


The author's comments:

Lucy Steward is a high school junior in New York City. Her works have been recognized by the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and appeared in the Authoethnographer, Humans of the World, Poet’s Choice, Sad Girl Diaries, and Teen Ink. A writer,  poet, and lover of history she is currently working on her first novel and is constantly slipping into fantasies that feel as real as the world around her. Lucy is also a classically trained pianist, a songwriter, and in a rock band. As anyone does, she loves a good night's sleep.


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