Steven Campbell

The Burden

The whir of shrimp boats
motoring back to port 
is accompanied by the 
salted winds off the 
Mississippi Sound as
the last glimpses of daylight 
fall over the horizon leaving
behind a purpled sky.

She watches as fat men
invade the beaches 
net casting for mullet 
in the retreating tide
their stunned prey caught 
in a sudden corral
of sand and water
too shallow to allow flight. 

The planks of the pier
cringe under her feet
like she did years ago
when he would come 
to her bedroom
after Carson
the mixture of gin
and Old Spice overcoming her
trapping her like the mullet
thrashing in the net
of a man 
who smells like a friend.

(photo by Kathie George)