Through 3-D Glasses
she coulda been slapped upside the head, or verbally challenged.
she coulda punted the football, coulda poured on the gravy, coulda eaten every last cookie,
coulda sworn on a stack a bibles, coulda reigned over an army of men, coulda pulled slots at the
casino, or she coulda stayed put.
she coulda done the dishes, coulda fed the fishes, coulda aged gracefully, coulda grown out the
hair in her armpits.
she coulda gotten a dog, coulda named him John, coulda gone on home with her loaded trousers
on, coulda drunk coffee till her teeth turned brown, coulda bought a house in vi-et-noun, coulda
canoodled with the barbershop man.
she coulda done laundry, coulda soiled her clothes first, coulda made a name for herself, coulda
sat with her neck arched like a turtle on a stone, coulda bit her fingernails till they bled, coulda
forged a signature, coulda jumped on a barge down the mississippi, coulda spelled
m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i, or she coulda called and re-scheduled.
she coulda turned seeds into wheat into bread, coulda learned spanish, coulda sat in a cave,
coulda had a son with straw hair and buttons for eyes, she coulda ached for him, coulda baked
for him, coulda raked leaves every fall before snow.
she coulda tended the fire, coulda mended her socks, coulda run ten miles a day, coulda brushed
her hair before bed, coulda camped out on the internet, coulda painted a cottage with a chimney,
coulda been an oil on canvas, coulda been cursed by baba yaga or she coulda been hired at
google, she coulda peeled the banana, coulda shed her skin, coulda slopped out food at the
canteen.
she coulda stuck to knives and swords, coulda opened a shopping center, coulda opened a can,
coulda lived in a universe six blocks long, coulda lost a leg, coulda got a peg, coulda made merry
with the pranksters or made blue with the whales.
Laura Heckel is 27 years old and goes on living in the Bronx, where she shares a home with her husband and rescue pup. She has studied performance, literature, and production, and makes a living as a video editor.