In the Kitchen

She is older than the trees
but younger than the stones that line this lake
hidden between mountains.

Time was, locals called her Dinah
and screamed when her serpentine neck surfaced
and submerged with a splash.

Slower now, she drifts in the depths.
The last of her kind,
her eggs barren.

She is a primeval thing, a
near-forgotten legend.

The lake—
cold and remote, but Instagram-ready—
draws brazen vacationers
who zoom across its black water in bowriders.

Bluetooth speakers blast the voices of tragically damaged
former child stars into the stillness.

Meters below, mourning the brood she never had
she
sings
along.

***

Jude Atwood’s writing has appeared in Plainsongs and the Gateway Review, but he is best known as the creator of viral memes like “Tilda Swinton as Libraries.” His first novel, Maybe There Are Witches (Fitzroy Books, 2023), won the Kraken Book Prize and was longlisted for the Bram Stoker Award for Middle Grade Fiction. He lives with his boyfriend and his dog in Southern California where he teaches media literacy to college students. He can be found on Instagram or Threads (@JudeAtwoodSketches).