Two Poems
Samantha Artuso
October 2nd, 3:57 p.m.
It’s damp inside the NJ transit tunnel.
A guy named Frank holds up
a piece of cardboard.
“Homeless,
please help
God Bless.”
I have two dollars and seventy cents,
change from buying a coffee at the Dunkin’ on the corner.
Hot coffee with caramel and cream.
I put the change down next to him,
don’t look at his face.
I’m going to miss the train.
It’s colder inside the metal capsule of 3:57 p.m.
than it is outside.
I think it’s going south toward Philly,
or north toward the city…
I’m really not sure.
Holy Sin
And her love is a sacrament,
ordained upon her lips.
Then, I knew I found religion–
there, on her fingertips.
She would whisper prayers in my ear,
in her voice, a sweet hymn.
In her bed we built an Eden,
although not free of sin.
A rosary around her throat
left burn marks on her skin.
“If love’s a sin, I’m a sinner.
With you, I’ve always been.”
Her eyes shone with Holy Water–
I wish I could repent–
so we held each other tighter
as our Eden came and went.
Samantha Artuso is a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Spanish. She plans on attending Veterinary School upon graduation with the hopes of opening her own domestic and exotic pets practice in the future. Samantha is from Raritan, NJ and loves her three cats at home as well as caramel coffee and playing softball with the Rutgers Club Softball team.
Samantha wrote these poems during the fall 2021 semester, while taking an Intro to Creative Writing class taught by Emily Hughes. Hughes selected “October 2nd, 3:57 p.m.” for publication in WHR.