This Once Was Pangea
Creator of time and space,
teach me the patience of a planet
steady in orbit, the silent
wisdom of a stone, the resilience
of mountains eroding into
the earth, the persistence of
glacial growth, the imperceivable
shifting of tectonic plates, the
movement of the motionless —
like a slumbering
bear in hibernation, a cocooned
caterpillar in chrysalis, teach me
the transforming power
of stillness.
Ariel Tovlev (he/they) is a queer and trans poet whose writing focuses on identity, spirituality, and finding beauty in the ordinary. He received his BFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and his MFA from Chapman University. He has been published in Wayfarers Magazine, ONE ART, and Pensive Journal, among others. In addition to being a writer, he is among the first out transgender individuals to be ordained as a rabbi. They have created original liturgy which speaks to the trans experience. He lives in DC with his spouse, their four cats, and a multitude of houseplants.
Amethyst Review 