{"id":5143,"date":"2025-08-04T20:43:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T20:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/?page_id=5143"},"modified":"2026-03-08T12:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T12:11:14","slug":"gorilla","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/gorilla\/","title":{"rendered":"Gorilla"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Isabella Terracina<\/em><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

sometimes I feel the sting of that creamy mixture<\/span><\/p>\n

mom slathered over my arms, legs, and upper lip\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

that sharp chemical stench burning my nostrils<\/span><\/p>\n

as I stood, arms outstretched, in the shower<\/span><\/p>\n

bits of hair washing down the drain<\/span><\/p>\n

leaving smoothness in its wake.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

sometimes I am back in the lunchline,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

and I hear the strawberry blond ask her sharp question\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0why are you so hairy<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

my arms scruffy like a gorilla,<\/span><\/p>\n

what they call me, the years that follow,<\/span><\/p>\n

mom and I in the bathroom<\/span><\/p>\n

taking care of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

sometimes I see the nicks on my knees\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

the angry red razor burn<\/span><\/p>\n

the creams and concoctions to make it go away<\/span><\/p>\n

smooth the skin<\/span><\/p>\n

make them forget I was ever that ugly word<\/span><\/p>\n

that creature from who knows where.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

and I think\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

wasn\u2019t second grade too early<\/span><\/p>\n

to stand in the shower<\/span><\/p>\n

skin burning<\/span><\/p>\n

hating the stubble I mercilessly scrubbed away<\/span><\/p>\n

wasn\u2019t second grade too young<\/span><\/p>\n

to feel like a dark, hairy\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ugly\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

gorilla?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Isabella Terracina<\/b> is from Metuchen, New Jersey. She is a class of 2026 public policy and political science major, with aspirations of becoming a federal prosecutor. In her free time, Isabella likes going to flea markets, reading Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez, and spending time with friends.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Isabella Terracina   sometimes I feel the sting of that creamy mixture mom slathered over my arms, legs, and upper lip\u00a0 that sharp chemical stench burning my nostrils as I … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2513,"featured_media":0,"parent":5102,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5143","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGorilla - 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-6-winter-2025-2027\/gorilla\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gorilla - Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Isabella Terracina   sometimes I feel the sting of that creamy mixture mom slathered over my arms, legs, and upper lip\u00a0 that sharp chemical stench burning my nostrils as I … Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/gorilla\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writers House Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-08T12:11:14+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=\"1 minute\" \/>\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-6-winter-2025-2027\/gorilla\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/vol-6-winter-2025-2027\/gorilla\/\",\"name\":\"Gorilla - 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