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Call to Mind Narrator
Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder. At least half of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime. In a new series of special reports from Call to Mind, we hear about the mental health impact of stress, climate change, immigration and more. Tune in for conversations with people managing hardship and experts seeking solutions. Listen to Call to Mind from American Public Media.
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Maggie Smith
I'm Maggie Smith, and this is the Slowdown.
Every September for as long as I can remember, I've gone apple picking with my family at Lynn's Fruit Farm in Pataskala, Ohio. The tradition started with my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins when I was a small child. When my sisters and I had children of our own, we continued our annual
apple picking outing with about 14 of us.
Every year we take a family photo
of my parents and all of the grandkids in a comically giant red Adirondack chair, the kind designed especially for novelty photos. I have fond memories of eating apples straight from the tree after shining them on my T shirt. I remember climbing the small trees when I, too, was small and then letting my kids climb when they were little. They'd pick the largest apples and hand them down to our waiting bushel sacks, one by one. Now only a few of the kids are still small enough to climb, but the crisp sweetness of an apple plucked right from the tree is something I'll never outgrow. And it's poetry. It links our individual experience directly to the environment. It connects the beauty in our perception to a universal narrative. Apples are front and center in some of our best known stories, parables of knowledge and truth. Fruit itself is a reminder of the land, trees, bush and vine that grew it, of how the earth works so hard to make life and to make life that is sweet. Today's poem takes as its inspiration the grapefruit, which is fleshy and juicy and as bitter as it is sweet. I was drawn to this poem because it is so packed with sensory detail, smells, sights and textures. The poem itself is delicious. Citrus Paradisi by Ara Ko In Chicago, the sunny kitchen smelled like grapefruit, wood, dust, wool coats. The windy, wide, paved streets felt empty even when they were full. The Oro Blanco grapefruit tasted richest in the coldest months separated into perfect jewel toned triangles. Did you know some people on depression medication can't eat grapefruit? Not even the La Croix flavor, not even ruby redshead sized grapefruits that glisten at Trader Joe's only 30 cents above my budget. Juicy smelling like morning, smelling like the January I almost killed myself but didn't. We split them in halves, sour and sometimes so so sweet Red blush grapefruit in blue china bowls. We ate them on the icy roof with toothy steel spoons. They say there are as many kinds of friendship as fruit or cars. Like your old truck, its rumble rumble over road salt crisp ice back from the grocery store, the compostable green baggie bursting open and out rolled grapefruit. So many huge fleshy pink grapefruits when they toppled to the ground they bounced. I ate one this morning, thumbs dug deeply in thick skin, glad to be alive and every time I eat one I think of you.
The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram at Slow Slow down Show and bluesky@downdownshow.org the Slowdown is written by me, Maggie Smith. The show is produced by Micah Kielbon and Maria Wurtel. Our music is composed by Kyle Andrews, engineering by Derek Ramirez and Maurizio Dirico. Our editor and digital producer is Jordan Turgen. Additional production help by Susanna Sharpless, Ruby Sigmund and Lauren Humpert. APM's Director of Distribution is Amy Lundgren and our president is Chandra Cavati.
Call to Mind Narrator
Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder at least half of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime. In a new series of special reports from Call to Mind, we hear about the mental health impact of stress, climate change, immigration and more. Tune in for conversations with people managing hardship and experts seeking solutions. Listen to Call to Mind from American Public Media.
Episode 1516: Citrus Paradisi by Arah Ko
Host: Maggie Smith
Date: May 15, 2026
In this episode, host Maggie Smith uses the poem "Citrus Paradisi" by Arah Ko as a gateway into themes of family tradition, sensory experience, friendship, and resilience. Drawing from her own memories of apple picking, Smith reflects on how the simple act of eating fruit connects us with nature, memory, and one another. The centerpiece is a vivid, emotionally resonant poem about grapefruits, weaving together sensory delight, vulnerability, and the bonds of friendship.
“The crisp sweetness of an apple plucked right from the tree is something I’ll never outgrow. And it’s poetry. It links our individual experience directly to the environment.” (Maggie Smith, 01:52–02:10)
“Fruit itself is a reminder of the land, trees, bush and vine that grew it, of how the earth works so hard to make life and to make life that is sweet.” (Maggie Smith, 02:16–02:26)
(Full reading, [02:46–06:37])
The poem is a sensory journey through place, taste, memory, and survival:
“Smelling like the January I almost killed myself but didn’t.” (Arah Ko, 05:10)
“Did you know some people on depression medication can’t eat grapefruit? Not even the La Croix flavor, not even ruby reds …” (Arah Ko, 04:15–04:30)
“They say there are as many kinds of friendship as fruit or cars.” (Arah Ko, 05:40)
“I ate one this morning, thumbs dug deeply in thick skin, glad to be alive and every time I eat one I think of you.” (Arah Ko, 06:20–06:35)
The Universality of Fruit:
“Apples are front and center in some of our best known stories, parables of knowledge and truth.” (Maggie Smith, 02:11–02:15)
Connections Across Time & Experience:
“The poem itself is delicious.” (Maggie Smith, 02:44)
Survival and Everyday Joy:
“Smelling like the January I almost killed myself but didn’t.” (Arah Ko, 05:10)
“I ate one this morning, thumbs dug deeply in thick skin, glad to be alive and every time I eat one I think of you.” (Arah Ko, 06:20–06:35)
The episode is warm, reflective, and intimate—inviting listeners to pause, appreciate sensory beauty, and consider the bittersweet moments that bind us to each other and to life itself. The mix of personal anecdote and poetry bridges everyday experiences with universal themes of memory, survival, and gratitude.
Through personal reflection and the resonant language of “Citrus Paradisi,” Maggie Smith guides listeners to savor the sweetness and complexity of being alive, finding hope and connection in the ordinary—whether through family ritual, a bite of fruit, or the sustaining ties of friendship.