Because misery loves company, my friend Jed and I are grading freshman essays together. “Jane,” I call out to my roommate who works as Recreation Director in a local nursing home, “read this essay. It’s about working in a nursing home.” Jed reads it over her shoulder. “I got the same essay in my class,” he says. “You couldn’t have,” I reply, certain and self-righteous. “My student is a nun.” “Well, my student is also a nun.” We look at each other, stunned, then laugh hysterically, a reverence we didn’t know we still possessed as former Catholics now in tatters.
Kathleen Aguero has published five books of poetry. The most recent is World Happiness Index (Tiger Bark Press). She teaches in the Solstice MFA program. kathleenaguero.com