Prompt (from Day 3): write a poem that obliquely explains why you are [something] and not something else.
I.
I might have been a lawyer
I did quite well in the “mock trial” experience
as a pre-teenager, though we did not win
The opposing team defied the rules, and I
did not know how to voice an objection
The injustice weighing upon me,
my failure, my insufficiency
I might have been a lawyer
as I stared down the forking paths
a new undergraduate alumna
predicting futures that might someday be
But the reading
so much reading
I discover as I read, page after page online
of what law school would be like
and whether it would be right
for me
What if I could not hack it?
II.
I might have learned computers
Followed in the footsteps of my father
Languages of logic and symbols and
the future of technology
I might have transformed data
with complicated math
sequences
loops
expressions
I might have created beauty
with only ones and zeroes
Interfaces for human interaction and
empowerment
But learning a new language is hard
and I had never learned that kind before
So I never took the class
(why risk my GPA?)
Programming is for smart people
The kind I only wished I could be
III.
I might have been an actress
an artist of the stage
Thriving in the camaraderie of thespians
cast and crew, all hands on deck
unified in purpose and love for the craft
Unabashed acceptance of individuality
Rehearsal as much or more fun, even
than the lifting of curtain on opening night
the final curtain call and cast party
But nothing ventured, nothing gained
Every joy comes at a price:
Auditions
I might have been an actress
But I heard it said, that if you can imagine yourself
doing ANYTHING else
other than acting
you should choose that other thing.
The strain of endless auditions
the competition of the industry
equals an inevitable stream of rejection
that can wear away a soul
I might have been a actress
but the thing about being an actress
is that I can always see myself
as some other person
doing some other thing