Goodbye Little One

By Celia Gibbs

She lives inside me, resting and still, 
caressed in the comfort of a timeworn quilt 
layered like the years that have 
made her a stranger to me. 

The girl wakes with tired eyes. She asks, 
Swallow me whole 
as you might a seed. 
Let me feel no pain 
as I am devoured. 

Once we shared a face, a name. 
But there’s an ache to eighteen, to the choke or rot. 
So it’s through snot sloughing down my throat 
that I apologize and say goodbye.

Celia Gibbs is a second year student at UNC Chapel Hill who is currently studying English with a focus on creative writing. She has previously published poetry as a finalist in the 2022 Long Story Short contest and will be featured in the fourth edition of idiosyncrazy. Find more of her work on Instagram, @celiamarie2003.