Elderberries

For Maxine

Last time October visited,
I was living with your son.
I’d caught a chest cold.
You brought food - mothers always
bring food - though I cannot remember the meal.
Why would I? It was a Tuesday or a Wednesday
and everything tasted like phlegm in my mouth.
What I wanted most was to use my phlegmy mouth
to still kiss your son.
What I do remember, though, is that you brought elderberry
supplements and you said to take them once a day, all winter long.
This is how you build a strong immune system.
October is with me again.
You are not. You are a heron.
Your son is not. He is a man.
My throat is clear but I am nothing
but vaporized searching
given the form of a woman’s body.
So I am still taking my elderberries.

Natalli Amato is the author of two poetry collections, On a Windless Night and the forthcoming Burning Barrel.