Jeri Theriault

Philomela’s hoard


my mouth hides  holds
     stifled acid
tangle & ground-worked
dark      flints
liturgy past carnage
grit-ready as the grave
before it has swallowed
the ready-to-be-held
body
this mouth bides bolds
praise & pebble
adamantine
amethyst
while tongue-less
earth allows anterooms
& sleeps keeps
wounds words
I may not speak

Jeri Theriault’s collections include Radost, my red (Moon Pie Press) and the award-winning In the Museum of Surrender (Encircle Publications). Her poems and reviews have appeared in journals such as: The American Journal of PoetryThe RumpusThe Texas Review and The Collagist.A 2019 Maine Literary Award winner, Jeri lives in South Portland, ME. jeritheriault.com

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