“No offense,” she said,
“but I don’t
like poetry.”
She said ‘poetry’
as if the word
left a bad taste
in her mouth;
as if ’poetry’ was some
unwashed, unkempt
entity of the library;
as if it was
the illegitimate
daughter of literature.
In all honesty,
with an attitude
like that,
poetry probably doesn’t
like her either.

By Amanda Valerie Judd – Mishawaka, Indiana – United States

About the Author

Amanda Valerie Judd has published 4 poetry collections. She has won the Patsy Lea Core Poetry and the St. Joseph County Library “Spill the Ink” poetry contests. Her poem “My Only Label” was nominated for Best of the Net 2021. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Poetica Review, Graveyard Zine, & PAN-O-PLY Magazine. Visit her at www.amandavjudd.com.

Feature photo by Suzy Hazelwood

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