This piece was first published in Quarto’s 2021 Spring Print Edition.
Illustration by Mita Sharma
sit with me awhile on the sun
palm this light, pick it up between two fingers
slip this fire between your lips; now
lick this gold, distilled, in your mouth
roll it over your tongue and
crush it between your teeth
chew it in your way-back molars—
i am asking you to
swallow the sun with me.
hold it, endless, in your stomach.
pour it from there; you, a carafe of sweet and forgiving and bleeding sun. i will
take a sip
tilt back my chin,
exalt as it rises in my eyes
Cassidy Gabriel is from Flemington, New Jersey. She can usually be found outdoors. In light of her quickly-approaching graduation, she is relearning how to introduce herself without immediate mention of her class year (senior), school (Columbia College), and what she studies (Political Theory, Computer Science, and Gender Studies). And yet!