LONELY HUNTER

        Haunted by desire
and taunted by its sightly objects,
        a man is consumed
        by smoldering fire
in the dark rooms of his charcoal heart.

        Sin is not an art
emanating from the flourishes
        of a master's brush,
        nor is it designed
to gather nourishment from thin air
        so far overhead
        speech is discouraged
and alibis remain unspoken.

        Even token love
would be preferred to the empty games
        no players attend,
        and a short weekend
at a polluted beach near Boston
        is acceptable
        if there is someone
who will speak kindly and settle claims.

        The man is married -
just imagine what life must be like
        for sailors never
        wedded to a wife
or guaranteed safe haven, ever.

C.B. Anderson lives in Maynard, Massachusetts with his wife and two children. For over twenty years he was the gardener of the PBS television series, The Victory Garden. Nowadays he gets his hands dirty without pay. His poems have appeared in dozens of print and online journals over the past five years, and one of them published in The Raintown Review was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Email: C.B. Anderson

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