{"id":4650,"date":"2024-08-12T04:14:17","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T04:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/?page_id=4650"},"modified":"2025-01-01T23:53:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T23:53:11","slug":"three-poems","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-5-winter-2024-2025\/three-poems\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Poems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Brooke Simmons<\/em><\/h4>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

Saint<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I got this braided black bracelet in 8<\/span>th<\/span> grade when I got my confirmation and chose the name Cecelia because she was the patron saint of music and I thought that would be so cool and different and unique. It didn\u2019t work too well it Brooke Marie.<\/span><\/p>\n

I wore white and red and became an adult in the eyes of the church but I had been an adult since I learned how to spell \u201chell\u201d and found out I\u2019d end up there one day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never taken it off. Even when it smelled like the rotting shrimp scampi that would spill on it during my first job or when the silver medals turned black after one too many times wearing it in the shower<\/span><\/p>\n

Saint Benedict stares at me while I curse now and reminds me to feel guilty. He looks at me like I\u2019m a lost cause and his eyes confirm my suspicions but I keep him around to judge me anyway. How could I let him go now?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Private school. Public, no frills, very good life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jumpers. Buttons. Frilly socks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Plaid. Green and blue and black. Yellow thin lines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bingo in the church auditorium on Thursdays.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lunch cart. $2 Hot pretzel. Paper chocolate milk carton I beg mom to buy but never drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesse tree. Christmas tree. Advent candles. Mamma Mary crackling over the loud speakers, <\/span><\/p>\n

playing on a cd stereo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Family life. Boys and girls. Two rooms. Wear deodorant. <\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t talk about your private parts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

School dance. No date. No dating. No boyfriend. No holding hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re hugging. Everyone watch them hug. Everyone watch <\/span><\/p>\n

them kiss. How did they learn how to kiss?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stand up. Good morning, Sister. <\/span>And how are you today?<\/span><\/i> Fine, thank you, Sister. <\/span><\/p>\n

You may be seated. <\/span><\/i>Sit down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Uniform skirt. Shorts underneath. Cross in every classroom. <\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re rolling their skirts. Should I roll my skirt? I\u2019m not going to <\/span><\/p>\n

roll my skirt.\u00a0<\/span>Good girls are chosen to read the readings. <\/span><\/p>\n

A letter from St. Paul to the Corinthians.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bad girls get demerits. Bad girls roll their skirts. Bad girls wear <\/span><\/p>\n

leggings on dress down days. Bad girls talk to boys. Good or bad boys. They giggle <\/span><\/p>\n

and get distracted by boys. Good girls don\u2019t get distracted. Good girls don\u2019t <\/span><\/p>\n

wear makeup. Good girls don\u2019t get noticed or go to the mall <\/span><\/p>\n

on Friday nights with the good or bad boys.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Good girls get good grades and never have anything <\/span><\/p>\n

to say during confession.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Driving somewhere, anywhere. Thinking of you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written my vows to you a thousand times while talking to Siri in the car. I won\u2019t forgive her for the typos because I\u2019ve had some pretty tearjerking lines, but I\u2019m grateful she was listening when I needed her so that one day I can tell you all the beautiful thoughts I\u2019ve had about you, filling my Notes app in squiggly red underlines and cheesy gibberish love anecdotes<\/span><\/p>\n

you are my son my mood and mine spar<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Brooke Simmons<\/strong>, class of 2024, is from Old Bridge, NJ. She double majored in marketing and English. She was the Vice President of the Glamour Gals at Rutgers and a Student Ambassador at Rutgers Business School.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brooke Simmons   Saint   I got this braided black bracelet in 8th grade when I got my confirmation and chose the name Cecelia because she was the patron saint … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2513,"featured_media":0,"parent":4318,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4650","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThree Poems - Writers House Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-5-winter-2024-2025\/three-poems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Three Poems - Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brooke Simmons   Saint   I got this braided black bracelet in 8th grade when I got my confirmation and chose the name Cecelia because she was the patron saint … Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-5-winter-2024-2025\/three-poems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-01T23:53:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-5-winter-2024-2025\/three-poems\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-5-winter-2024-2025\/three-poems\/\",\"name\":\"Three Poems - 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