Poem by Amanda Valerie Judd
She was summer. Hot and humid, with only the slightest of breezes for relief; caramel corn skin — sticky and sweet; moving slow and sultry . . . ignoring Fall, trying to sneak up behind her; sweat, honeysuckles, and lemonade – a parade of her scents; she wore waterfalls around her neck; the sun itself her hair; her eyes two swimming pools, with no lifeguard on duty; and when she spoke it held all the joy and laughter of a county fair. She was summer.
Ms. Judd has an AFA in Creative Writing. In 2020, she won the Patsy Lea Core Prize for Poetry. In 2021, her poem “My Only Label” was nominated for “Best of the Net 2021.”