Dad, head in Mom’s lap,
her reading The Byzantine Empire aloud.
She’s got tissues, water glass, pill.
April and Gloria come in together,
we all gather round.
Gloria says TB
used to be called consumption,
it consumed from within.
Says we need to strengthen the body,
the lungs specifically,
thank goodness, she says,
Dad doesn’t have pneumonia too.
She says he needs more vitamin D
to help slow the progression of KS,
acupuncture can help with that too.
I take notes as she speaks.
She pulls out more bottles:
Astragalus. Mint. Green tea.
Then: bananas, oranges, pineapple juice.
Dad raises his eyebrows,
we catch a smile between us,
a New Age Mary Poppins,
Gloria with her big black bag of remedies.
She asks if we’ve ever
heard of custard apple,
breaks open a green pale bumpy fruit
with her hands.
Tells April to fetch a spoon for Dad.
As he tries this strange fruit, the herbs, the juice,
I wonder if we can stop time from consuming him,
consuming us.
I wonder if we try hard enough,
we can stop time
from flying.