The same sea she once
waddled into in her work clothes
weighed down by worries and
pockets full of stones
swaddled by the cold water
her shoes stuck in the soupy sand
the ocean’s twilight tide tickled her lips
she licked the salty residue and only tasted sweetness
in a sense the sea parted that night
separated not itself but something inside her
what she envisioned as her Dead Sea became her Red Sea
the water’s surface still at her nostrils
she fingered the smooth stones and let them go
her feet released from the stuck sand
and as she rose a playful swell rushed over her
just for one moment every inch of her enveloped
sputtering she spit out the salty sea
and uttered a prayer of gratitude
for giving us life, for sustaining us, for enabling us to reach this moment
the same sea sparkles its trademark dark blue-green
even all these years later
she hasn’t forgotten the feeling of sinking
but more vividly remembers the sensation of
trust falling backwards, feet rising to float;
how solid the sand seemed when she reached the shore
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 the Vermillion Literary Project, Queer Voices, ONE ART, and Pensive Journal, among others. In addition to being a poet and essayist, 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 the Maryland suburbs of DC with his spouse, their four cats, and a multitude of houseplants.
