the hunter

gatherers
with tribe counted by armfuls
chestnut after chestnut after
daytime in earthenware words
lavender hills and bluegreen hands
after chestnut after chestnut
rain-clad women and silent men
the hunters
gathering
stolid, elemental archives of beauty
readily derelict gargoyle-like motes
and one more armful
chest to chest to chest
kneeling to moisty mother provider
after and after and after
a hunter a-huddling inside
our chestnut shells
to be gathered.