Selected Pieces - Fiction

by Eshkar Kaidar-Heafetz, Georgia

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
curly hair, nice teeth, and loves wearing gold.
A “good Jewish girl,”
who keeps a Star of David around her neck on the silver chain her mom bought her. 

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
always polite and uses her manners at the dinner table.
A “good Jewish girl,”
who hopes to one day meet and marry a nice Jewish boy. 

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
who cooks for her family on Friday nights.
A “good Jewish girl,”
whose family is everything.

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
who works sixty hours a week, and drives back every weekend to see her family for brief moments.
A “good Jewish girl,”
who stands at the Shabbat table during prayer, speaking louder than she should.

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
who is beautiful, outside of the house, only to her close friends.
A “good Jewish girl,” 
who stays quiet and keeps her phone notifications hidden.

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
5’10, broad shoulders.
A “good Jewish girl,”
who shaves her face every other day, her armpits twice a week.

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
size 14 shoes, size 13 rings, whose necklaces break around her thick neck.
A “good Jewish girl”
whose voice is deeper than the others.

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
who wears her kippah and tallit.
A “good Jewish girl,”
who stands next to her father, divided by a wall between service.

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
who spoke elegantly at her bar mitzvah
A “good Jewish girl,”
who dances at concerts until she forgets who she is, slamming into fits, legs, knocked to the ground. 

I am a “good Jewish girl,”
who’s curly hair never seems to look right in the mirror
A “good Jewish girl,”
whose body doesn’t seem to either.