Poem by Amanda Valerie Judd
I am free of you, and yet, The clink of ice cubes into a glass sends terror down my spine in much the same way the sound of our garage door going up would freeze my throat in fear ‘til I thought my neck would snap. I am free, and yet, when I accidentally catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror it is your face I see in mind’s eye, as you shake your head in disgust at the sight of me. I am free, and yet, your hateful words still ricochet around my brain slamming into the corners of my skull like a desperate bird trapped in a house trying to get out. But I am free . . .
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.”
