the woman had
no name
save mother
if i had a name
she never used it
i imagined some
loving sounds
and whispered them
when i split
her wood
when she brought
the lid’s black mouth down
it did not take
off my head
she tried again
then used her weight
sat like a crow
atop the chest
to see
how open
my body
could be
how separate
was my head
from the bright
apple of my heart
Millie Tullis
Millie Tullis is an MFA poetry candidate at George Mason University. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Sugar House Review, Rock & Sling, Cimarron Review, Ninth Letter, Juked, Psaltery & Lyre, and elsewhere. She serves as the Assistant Editor for Best of the Net and Poetry Editor and Social Media Manager for Phoebe. You can find her on twitter @millie_tullis.
Artwork: Laura Makabresku
Website: https://lauramakabresku.blogspot.com/
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