d’Verse prosery
My health hasn’t suffered for the many puncture wounds dealt to my religious dogma, Rabbi. I am bombarded, yet I stand, and that’s precisely the point, can’t you understand? Assailed by doubts, awash in religious transgressions, adrift from my old synagogue community; yet I remain standing, even thriving!
In fact, I’m happier than ever. Freedom has never tasted sweeter. All through my childhood, I was taught, expected, required(!) to disregard my critical faculties in lieu of a “truth” entirely disconnected from the world around me. However, I eventually found refuge at the public library. Sneaking away from the yeshiva every day, I would uncover the world forbidden to me through novels, historic works, and reference books. I studied physics and biology; I taught myself four languages; I realized that the earth is billions, not thousands, of years old…
No, Rabbi, I have no regrets.
The prompt
d’Verse prosery is flash fiction with a beginning, a middle and an end, in any genre of the author’s choice, no longer than 144 words. This very short piece of prose must include an assigned line from a poem, within the 144 word limit. Writers may change the punctuation of the assigned line, but they may not insert words within the quotation.
I am bombarded yet I stand.
-from Adrienne Rich‘s poem ‘Planetarium’
P.S. This is a work of fiction
The prosery piece above was written in the voice of a sheltered young man raised in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish enclave who left the fold.
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
Wonderful David. Glad you listened to your head and heart. 🙂
This is fiction, Terveen 🤗
There’s always some reality hidden in fiction, David. It could be as simple as a feeling. 🙂
In truth, I’d like to think that if I’d been born in an insular ultra-Orthodox community, I would have left too!
A lovely take on the prompt! ❤️❤️
💚 Thanks, Diana! 💚
Oh, David, I loved this. Very well done. Points well made, Feelings well-expressed. “I have no regrets.” 🙂
Bill,
I have so much respect for those who go through journeys like this… they have to leave everything behind, essentially, and are utterly ostracized by their families and communities. Actually, I wrote another along a similar theme (and it’s more cutting than this one) –
https://skepticskaddish.com/2021/07/19/split-decisions/
I read it and commented there. It’s all so unnecessary,
[…] Here is a funny bit though. I commented on an entry in a blog I like, https://skepticskaddish.com/2021/11/08/sneaking-away-from-the-yeshiva/ […]
🥰 Joe 🥰
Yo! Reading ‘Sneaking Away.” lifted my recent writing hiatus, forcing me to again pick up the stylus, thanks
🤍💖 David 💖🤍