Eulogy to the Trust of the World
After We Are Gone
Ainsley Payne | Young Artists Issue | Poetry, Winter 2026
After Eve’s youngest daughter lays her head in the grass
and closes her eyes for the final time,
the world will go quiet.
And, finally free of our upheaval, she will breathe
a sigh of relief and cover the child she loved despite
our ruin in a field of wildflowers. The birds will sing
for their true mother and the sun will set
behind forests of new, growing trees.
After Adam’s youngest son lays his head in the sand
and closes his eyes for the final time
nature will send in her troops to cover
all he had worked to build. They will scale
the sides of skyscrapers and break their way
into the trunks of cars, and after her soldiers
take back her home, she will grieve
the loss of her children, who took
her gifts and left her hands bare.
The ones who drove stakes through her skin,
who filled her ocean with oil and trash,
until even her tears ran black and thick
and even after she cries away all the contamination
she will never be the same.
Each time another child rises to take power,
she will squirm under the soil—
Her mountains shift, and her rivers surge,
reminding them that she can endure,
that nothing can hurt her again.
______________________________________
Why is this piece your Trace Fossil?
“This poem is my trace fossil because it captures my voice and the way I view the world. This poem shows my thoughts on humanity and nature and the path that we have carved for our earth and our species. This poem is proof that I was here, and the things that matter to me.”
Ainsley Payne is a 10th grade creative writer at Charleston County School of the Arts.
Eulogy to the Trust of the World After We Are Gone
Ainsley Payne
Young Artists Issue | Poetry, Winter 2026
After Eve’s youngest daughter lays her head in the grass
and closes her eyes for the final time,
the world will go quiet.
And, finally free of our upheaval, she will breathe
a sigh of relief and cover the child she loved despite
our ruin in a field of wildflowers. The birds will sing
for their true mother and the sun will set
behind forests of new, growing trees.
After Adam’s youngest son lays his head in the sand
and closes his eyes for the final time
nature will send in her troops to cover
all he had worked to build. They will scale
the sides of skyscrapers and break their way
into the trunks of cars, and after her soldiers
take back her home, she will grieve
the loss of her children, who took
her gifts and left her hands bare.
The ones who drove stakes through her skin,
who filled her ocean with oil and trash,
until even her tears ran black and thick
and even after she cries away all the contamination
she will never be the same.
Each time another child rises to take power,
she will squirm under the soil—
Her mountains shift, and her rivers surge,
reminding them that she can endure,
that nothing can hurt her again.
______________________________________
Why is this piece your Trace Fossil?
“This poem is my trace fossil because it captures my voice and the way I view the world. This poem shows my thoughts on humanity and nature and the path that we have carved for our earth and our species. This poem is proof that I was here, and the things that matter to me.”
Ainsley Payne is a 10th grade creative writer at Charleston County School of the Arts.