Cassidy Rose
A Day in Colors
ULTRAMARINE- I wake up like an animal coming out of hibernation— as crusty as I am cozy, and I am very cozy tucked beneath this deep blue blanket, with my cat purring at my knees. I drink cold tea in the apathetic gray morning light and resolve to collect as many colors as I can today.
FIGHTING PINK- a muted sky cannot stop the Sakura festival at Shofuso, where the mighty, merry cherry blossoms have enticed half of Philadelphia with their marvels. We buzz like happy bees.
SHY SUN YELLOW- in between Taiko drumming sets, my partner explains the legend of Taiko: the sun god, depressed, went to hide away in a cave. Without their sun, the people on earth were cold and sad, so they made new music to lure the god back out, and Taiko was born. On cue, the drumming starts again and the clouds part slightly, just enough for the sun god to peek out and offer her praise.
BUTTERFLY BLUE- in line for a food-truck lunch, a 9ish-year-old with a big smile filled with new front teeth announces that she’s going to be on stage soon in the cosplay costume contest. She spins, showing off her butterfly wings and cardboard sword, which, she tells me, is for “slaying demons.”
DISTANT WHISPER GREEN- candidly, I don’t know who this oxidized man on a horse is, and I don’t care to learn, but I can see him from my perch at the whispering benches on Avenue of the Republic. I sit on one end and my dad and partner sit on the other, 40 feet away, and through some magic of engineering (indistinguishable from real magic) we can hear each other perfectly.
QUIET MOMENT HONEY- another secret for you: I edited this picture to make it warmer, but it is only because my camera is imperfect, and could never capture the emotional truth of this moment, the coziness of watching two of my favorite people bent over their guitars, the warmth they brought to the room, my heart, and probably the whole neighborhood, so I had to edit it so that you could understand.
DENTED SILVER- this isn’t my car, but damn, I wish it was.
SUNSET CHERRY- as if the cherry blossoms didn’t do enough today, they were positively coronated by the sunset, flushed proud, glowing with accomplishment.
SALOON BAND BROWN- a shout-out to brown, gleaming cello and flashing fiddles on the stage of Hadestown making some foot-stomping, hand-shaking, glorious sound, a reminder to never forget the warmth of wood.
SURPRISING RED- when Hades turns around, the back of his vest is as red as a heart cracked open, which shouldn’t feel hopeful, but it is, I promise, it is.
FADED GOLD- one of the advantages of nosebleed seats is that you are closer to heaven, or at least, the dusty gold ceiling of this Baroque concert hall, which is where my eyes end up again and again throughout the show. I think of the stories we pass down like treasures because life is nothing without them, even the sad ones. Especially the sad ones. I think of the sun god above us, who is probably smiling in her sleep at the sound of such bittersweet music. I think she might come out in earnest tomorrow.
ULTRAMARINE (AGAIN)- to bed, to bed, sleepy head.
You can usually find Cassidy speed-walking around the city. She writes essays on books, art, Philly, and more on Substack: https://dispatchfromcass.substack.com/
