Health

He was excited. There’d been
A death in the family,
And that was sad, but it brought

Him into conversation
With his much older brother,
And as they talked about health

And who’d lived how long, how well,
He’d gotten the chance to talk
About what he was up to,

What his cardiologist
Had told him about himself,
And as he’d spilled this all out,

His brother could hear his voice
Growing happier, almost
Drunk on the rush of speaking,

As if talking about health
Could produce that health for him,
And maybe it could. It’s old,

Old language magic, naming,
Over and over again,
As a charm to calm the fates.