the day I finally caught the sun between my lips was the day i was set free from the iron cage with its iron bars, that crushed my arms and shattered my lungs. i closed my eyes and let the golden flames drip down the back of my throat and coat my tongue like honey. i felt it spread through my chest, felt the thing i had been chasing for years and years and years. i watched as the inky blackness that had suffocated me for so many silent nights bled from my fingertips and sunk into the dirt, staining the daisies and wilting the poppies. a golden bead slipped down my cheek, and i wondered why my tears had never tasted so sweet. sitting down with the sunflowers, i watched the cotton candy clouds float across the baby blue sky, and began writing about the day i swallowed the sun.