Mom, Dad, the couch,
a crossword between them,
she gives him his pills,
crystals collect dust,
herbs remain in plastic, unopened.
Later, April sits with Mom,
each one preparing for her own show—
school play, glass exhibit.
April launches into her herbal plan.
Mom calls Celestial Treasures “darling.”
They ask me to join.
Say I’m busy, college apps.
But even if I didn’t have essays to write,
even if I wasn’t still grounded,
I’d be out with Chloe, at the Big Rock with Dylan.
I wouldn’t be playing this game of pretend,
playing family, playing doctor, playing healthy,
as if the world we knew hadn’t slipped
off its axis.