Wall Flower

Poetry by Terry Jude Miller

a mare’s skull falls
from the slave girl’s wrecked wall
studs scribed with apotropaic flower—

placed there as talisman

to stop master’s lustful hands
from reaching dark young flesh
he enters her quarters with a lantern
and lasciviousness—she wields

a horse jaw pulled
from beneath her pillow

BIO: Terry Jude Miller is a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet from Houston. He received the 2018 Catherine Case Lubbe Manuscript Prize for his book, The Drawn Cat’s Dream. His work has been published in the Southern Poetry Anthology, The Lily Poetry Review, The Comstock Review, and The Oakland Review and in scores of other publications. He formerly served as 1st Vice Chancellor of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.